The Lily Seed
by apis-caelum
Summary: Which were both Sydney's and Adrian's opinions of each other after they met at Court? Is it possible that they left a strong impression on each other, so strong that they defy all the rules they know so they can meet again, or is the pressure of who they are or will be too strong for their relationship to blossom? Rated T for now. BETA: CherrySlushLover
1. Chapter 1 - The Seed

_Hey guys, this is my FIRST fanfic ever, and I would love it if you read it through and reviewed and just enjoy. _

_I made this fanfic based on Sydrian (My biggest OTP), and I'm basing myself on the first chapters merely off Richelle's version since the appearance of Sydney at Court in Last Sacrifice, but as the story develops, I will be adding and subtracting things from the actual story so it matches my made-up version. It may not follow the exact same storyline of the Bloodlines series of Richelle, but instead have a new twist, I'm still working on it. I hope you enjoy. :)_

_I want to thank my Beta, **CherrySlushLover**, for helping me with this fanfic! Thank you so much! :3_

**THE MAIN CHARACTERS, STORYLINE, VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES ALL BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD. SOME OF THE CHARACTERS, THEMES AND EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN THIS STORY MIGHT BE BASED ON RICHELLE'S STORY, OTHERS WON'T, BUT THEY STILL BELONG TO ME.**

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_**S**__**YDNEY'S POV**_

I was being dragged to Court, much to my dismay, by Stanton and Ian, so I could tell my version of what happened with Rose and Dimitri in Detroit. I felt like a prisoner, under the eye of the storm; I was being accused of helping Rose escape from their vampire laws and beliefs. Of course, I knew Rose wasn't guilty at all and that she didn't murder the Moroi Queen Tatiana, but I had to make both the Alchemists and Guardians believe that I didn't have anything to do with it and that I was selfishly looking for all the credit and praise of the Alchemists if Rose was guilty. I had to stick to a made-up version of what happened, and I quickly made up a story in my head that could save my skin for a bit longer.

We fearfully entered a closed room where several guardians and three Moroi were sitting. All of them were staring at us; I felt uncomfortable as Ian, Stanton and I were being regarded as the weird ones in here. The Moroi were looking at us with curiosity written all over their faces—a blonde, female Moroi, whom I thought I recognised, a guy about my age, black-haired with icy blue eyes, and a very handsome Moroi who was a bit older than me, called Adrian, if I recalled correctly. Everyone looked at me then at Stanton and Ian. I could see only Adrian continue to look at me. I turned my gaze away from him and heard them all talking, but I wasn't listening. I was called back to reality as the head guardian, Hans, asked me a few questions.

"Do you know these three?" He gestured to where three Moroi were sitting. I recognized Lissa Dragomir, Rose's best friend, and Adrian Ivashkov from the Vegas tape, but I didn't know the other Moroi. I shook my head.

"Ever communicated with them?" he said.

"No." I answered, but Hans didn't look convinced; I didn't back down though.

"Then how did you get involved with Hathaway?" asked Hans.

I studied him, as he studied me back, looking for any sign that might give me away, but I prayed that I didn't. I had so many things on my mind, being surrounded by the Moroi society, the consequences of what I've done and how the Alchemists would react to it, and of course, the real reason why I got involved, Ibrahim Mazur. I could easily say anything about how he influenced the Moroi society and he could do the same thing with the Alchemists, meaning that he could blackmail me. So, I took a deep breath and swallowed, putting on my most professional look.

"I met Rose in Siberia."

"Yes, yes," said Hans, "But how did you end up helping her escape here?"

"I had nothing to do with her escaping this place!" I said, controlling my need to scream at Hans. "She contacted me a few days ago and asked for help to get to a house near Detroit. She claimed she was innocent and that this would help prove it."

"The Alchemists knew by then she was a fugitive," pointed out Hans. He had a point, we already knew she was escaping from Court, yet I could use the excuse of believing that it was the correct thing to do. Hans continued, "Everyone had orders to look out for her. You could have turned her in."

"When I first met Rose, she didn't seem like the murdering type—I mean, aside from killing Strigoi. Which isn't murder at all, really. So when she said she was innocent and could prove it, I decided to help her. I gave her a ride."

"We already asked her about this," added Stanton annoyingly, "and we already told you that we had questioned her. What she did was foolish—a naive lapse in judgement. It's something for us to deal with, not you." I didn't like how that sounded, but I didn't give anything away. "You worry about _your_ murdering fiend."

"Who were the people with her?" asked Hans, ignoring Stanton.

I had to watch that I didn't give anything away, so, faking disgust, I said, "One was that guy... Dimitri Belikov. The one that you think is 'cured'. I don't know who the others were. There were two guys and a woman. They never introduced us."

To everyone's surprise, Lissa spoke, breaking the silence, as she asked me, "What was in Detroit? How was Rose going to clear herself? What about Jill?"

I looked from Lissa to Hans, who was frowning because of the interruption, but he also held curiosity in his eyes, obviously expecting someone to tell the truth. I held my professional façade, careful not to let anything slip.

"I have no idea. That Jill girl didn't seem to know either. Rose just said we had to go to get her, so I helped her."

"Blindly?" asked Hans. "You really expect me to believe that you just trusted her like that?"

"She's my—" Oh no, I was about to say she was my friend, and almost slipped. I bit my lip, and continued as if nothing happened, and pulled my professional facade back on. "There was something believable about her, and I figured it'd be a waste of resources if the Alchemists had been helping you hunt the wrong murderer. If I decided she was guilty, I could always turn her in." I was rambling by now, but I hoped this made some sense to them; maybe I wouldn't be badly punished if I also added some pride and ambition to the situation. "And I thought... I thought if I was the one who solved this, I'd get the credit and a promotion."

"I don't believe any of you." said Hans, as he shook his head; he looked as if he could see right through my lies.

Ian took a step forward and added, "If she says that's the way it happened, then that's the way it happened."

Lissa's eyes went wide as she saw him and then gazed back at me, but I didn't know why.

"Easy, Ian," said Stanton, still keeping her eyes on Hans. "It doesn't matter if you believe her or not. The point remains: Miss Sage answered your questions. We're finished."

"Do Jill's parents know anything?" asked Lissa. I turned to Lissa, and saw her worried face. I wish I could tell her everything I knew about Rose and her mission, but I would compromise everything that I'd said until now.

"No," I said, "We just went there, and Rose said Jill had to come with her. The Mastrano's don't know why. And then— and then Rose did take her. Or Jill went with her. I'm not sure what happened. It all turned to chaos."

"There," said Stanton. "This is exactly what we told you before. We need to leave now." She turned toward the door, but Guardians blocked the way.

"Impossible," said Hans. "This is serious matter, and Miss Sage is the only link we have to a murder—a royal murder. And a kidnapping."

"She doesn't seem to be of much more use to you. But don't worry—we'll be holding her. Contact us if you have more questions." said Stanton.

"Unacceptable," said Hans. "She stays here."

Again, I blanked out—all I wanted was to get out of here as quick as possible. Suddenly, I saw Lissa moving towards Ian and me.

Lissa murmured something, but I couldn't exactly tell what it was, and apparently from our blank looks, she could tell we hadn't heard. She looked around anxiously, as if she didn't want to attract attention, and spoke clearer now, "You know him—the guy in the picture."

Ian looked surprised; I could tell he was shocked by the way she had caught him unguarded.

"Ian," I said softly, "What is it?" I wasn't used to pleading, but I'm sure that's how it must have sounded, because he looked as if he was going to answer before I become the centre of attention again.

Apparently, Stanton and Hans had reached an agreement. There was a small town less than forty-five minutes away from Court, and we would stay there—with several guardians on hand. This didn't sound good. Were we going to be guarded so we didn't leave the city?

Hans asked a few more questions to the Moroi and finally let us go, but not without sending some Guardians to escort us. As we approached the exit, I saw Abe, and he saw me, and I stiffened, hoping nobody saw it. The Moroi and the Alchemists parted ways; we headed to a black SUV with tinted windows and got driven to the city.

Once we got there, we were immediately put under house-arrest in a hotel. By the look Abe gave me, I could tell he was upset—he was going to demand the real answers from me, and I was afraid of what he would do if I didn't tell him.

A couple of days passed by; I had already lost track of how many times Hans has called to see if I 'remembered' anything else. I was sitting in my bed, reading a book—it was already past midnight, but I couldn't sleep. I heard people talking outside of my door, and suddenly two guardians entered.

"Well, what is it now?" I asked as I sighed.

The female guardian removed the bracelet she had, and suddenly Rose Hathaway stood in my room, taking the place of the other female guardian.

"I should have guessed. Are you here to free me?" I asked.

"Um, not exactly. We need to talk to Ian, and it's probably best if you're there. He knows something important. Something we need." said Rose.

I raised my eyebrow, giving her a doubtful look and pointed to the door. "They won't let us talk to each other."

"They aren't out there."

I shook my head and said, "Rose, you really do scare me sometimes. Just not for the reasons I originally thought you would. Come on, he's next door, but you'll have a hard time getting him to talk."

"That's where you'll help," Rose said as we exited my room, and she slipped on the bracelet again. "He's totally into you. He'll help if you ask."

"What! He does not-" I shut up as we entered Ian's room. He was watching TV but jumped up when he saw us. "Sydney! Are you okay?"

Rose stared at me with a look that said 'I told you so.' I could only stare back at her weakly. I turned my attention back to Ian. "They need your help with something. Some information."I listened to their argument, as Ian said he didn't recognize the man in the picture regardless of Rose's accusations, but I knew it was a lie, I saw him react to it. "I actually saw that too." I admitted to Ian.

He kept from answering the question, until Rose gave me a meaningful look; I knew what I had to do. I had to convince Ian to give them the information. Using my womanly charms was wrong and I felt dirty doing so, but I had to help Rose prove her innocence.

Finally, Ian answered all of Rose's questions, and she seemed satisfied, as if she knew exactly who Ian was talking. Ian and I were not happy at all by the fact that we were still going to have to stay here at this hotel until the guardians released us. I prayed to God that Rose would be able to solve this mystery, so that we could get released and head back home. I felt uneasy at what would happen to me. Honestly, I wasn't afraid of what they might do, but what the Alchemists would do once I went back to them.

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_Please enjoy and review. I love reviews, and I would love to know your opinion on my fanfic! I will most likely update on weekends, since I'm in college now, maybe 1 or 2 chapters per weekend, depends on how inspired I am. :)_

_I hope you like it!_

_Thanks! :}_


	2. Chapter 2 - The Plan

_Second chapter! Thanks for those 4 reviews, the 4 follows and the 170+ hits this fanfic got overnight! I'm astonished and overwhelmed, thank you so much!_

_This chapter is on Adrian's POV, and I will try to alternate the POV's between Sydney and Adrian, mainly. I'm not sure how to write Adrian's POV, given that he is a very difficult character to understand, and I don't know if I'm doing it correctly, maybe I'm missing more snarky and sassy comments, ADD moments, spirit induced craziness, etc. I hope I can grow to adapt him better in future chapters, bear with me. :)_

_I might make .5 chapters in other character's POVs too. _

**DISCLAIMER: VAMPIRE ACADEMY, BLOODLINES AND YADA-YADA ALL BELONG TO THE LOVELY RICHELLE MEAD. :)**

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_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

We were all called into the room where Eddie was being interrogated by Hans and where a couple of other guardians stood ready to jump into action at any moment. There was a large table, where Lissa sat, and Christian and I stood at her side. All of us were uncomfortable by the situation. Hans was at the other side of the table, with an accusatory look on his face, regarding us as if we were guilty. What was wrong with this guy?

Eddie was sitting at the other side, with two guardians next to him; did they think Eddie was stupid enough to attempt anything? They could at least remove their predatory faces and not regard him as if he was a cold-blooded assassin. He did what he had to do to protect Lissa; after all she _was_ the last of the Dragomir's.

Hans pointed at a picture on the table, and I saw Lissa react to it, he must have been the guy that had attacked her. Pale skin, closed eyes, Moroi complexity.

"You killed a Moroi!" exclaimed Hans. "How is that not a problem? You're trained to protect them!"

"I did," Eddie said. He was so calm and maintained his posture; it painfully reminded me of a certain Russian Dhampir. "I protected her. What difference does it make if the threat's a Moroi or a Strigoi?"

"We have no proof of any of the details of this attack," growled Hans.

I was glancing around the room, and I saw Christian's aura turning darker as he snapped at Hans angrily. "You have three witnesses! Are you saying that our reports are worthless?"

"I'm saying that you're his friends, which makes your reports questionable. I would have liked to have had a guardian around to verify this."

If spirit wasn't bad enough to drive Lissa crazy, this was about to do it. Her aura matched Christian's, dark with anger. "You did! Eddie was there."

"And there was no way you could have protected her without killing him?" asked Hans.

Of course, if Eddie didn't kill him, the Moroi would have killed Eddie or Lissa, and Hans would be in the same place demanding Eddie's answer as to why he didn't protect Lissa and avoid getting her killed. Hans would have said that Eddie shouldn't have taken a risk and that he should have done anything in his power to protect her. Either way, Eddie couldn't win.

Cheers for the great system of judgement that we have in Court.

Eddie didn't answer; he studiously answered Hans as he shook his head. "If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed me."

I was tired, stressed and infinitely sad. I wanted this to end, go to my room and drink a couple of bottles and smoke some cigarettes. I didn't care anymore. I blanked out as the bickering went on and on, until Lissa caught my attention when she mentioned Joe, the Janitor that my mother had bribed. "They'll have a hard time making him talk."

Hans narrowed his eyes and added, "Oh, if he knows something, we'll make him talk." He paused and gestured to the door- one of the Guardians next to Eddie moved towards it. "Find this guy. And send in our 'guests'." Hans told him.

The guardian left.

I was about to ask what guests, but Lissa was faster. "What guests?" she asked.

"Well, it's funny you mention Hathaway. Because we just had a sighting of her." said Hans with a mockery tone.

Lissa, Christian and I stiffened, because we all caught our breaths. They had found Rose- how had they found her? Abe had said to Christian and Lissa that she was safe in West Virginia, and no one else knew she would be there. I knew she wasn't, but I expected her to be safe wherever she was.

"She and Belikov were spotted outside of Detroit, where they kidnapped a girl."

'Little Dhampir,' I thought, 'What are you getting yourself into? Can't you just stay in one place quietly? Of course not, it's you we're talking about, you can't stay still for more than 2 seconds, but why would you kidnap a girl?'

I was growing more confused by the second.

"They'd never—" Lissa stopped just in time. "Did you say Detroit?" I thought she would look at Christian and me, but she didn't, which I was thankful for.

Hans nodded; he probably thought that he was just saying what he had found out- expecting us not to know, which we didn't. But he was also wary, searching for any reaction that might give us away. "They had a few other people with them. Some of them got away, but we caught one."

"Who did they kidnap?" asked Christian. Of course, we couldn't fake how astonished we were by the fact that this wasn't in any part of the plan we had made to keep Rose safe.

"Mastrano," said Hans, "Something Mastrano."

"Jill Mastrano?" exclaimed Lissa.

"Jailbait?" I asked, honestly shocked. What did Rose want with Jailbait that she actually had to kidnap her?

Hans looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. Yeah, I shouldn't have called her Jailbait.

He got distracted when three guardians entered, accompanied by a dark-skinned woman in her mid-forties, and a guy about my age, with brown eyes and brown hair. I did a quick survey over them. I was surprised, however, when a very pretty blonde girl, a bit younger than me, came in with them, dressed in business-like attires. I couldn't take my eyes off the pretty blonde; she had a very interesting aura, yellow, mostly, but sparks of purple in it too. She was intently looking at me, her eyes a very light brown. A very good sight indeed. She looked away from me nervously, and stared at the floor. Yes, she was interesting.

The three of them had a gold, flower tattoo on their cheeks. What did it mean? I studied the pretty blonde again, trying to see the tattoo, or maybe I was just trying to study her. The point was that humans never came to Court, so that meant that they probably weren't normal humans.

"Who are these guys?" Lissa asked; she was thinking the same thing I was.

"Alchemists," said Hans. "You know what that means?"

We nodded as we recalled who the Alchemists were. All Moroi, after we finish our education, are taught who these Alchemists are. They are some sort of human organization that works alongside Moroi to keep our existence hidden from humans, or something in between those terms. I regretted not paying more attention in class, as I glanced at the girl again.

"What do they have to do with Eddie and that guy who attacked me?" Lissa asked.

"Maybe something. Maybe nothing." Hans shrugged. "But I do know that there's something strange going on, something you're all involved in, and I need to figure out what. She,"—Hans pointed at pretty blonde—"was with Hathaway in Detroit, and I still have trouble believing none of you know anything about it."

I crossed my arms and leaned back on the wall. Could this guy be any more of a douche? Accusing us of the most insignificant stuff?

"Keep believing that, but I don't know any of these people. Don't Alchemists hate us? Why are they here?" I said. The pretty blonde probably _was_ with Rose; after all, she wasn't in West Virginia like everyone thought.

"Because we have an escaped murderess to deal with and we needed to question her accomplice in person," was Hans's crisp response.

The older Alchemist jumped in and added, "You have no proof that Miss Sage was an 'accomplice' to your criminal. And I still think it's ridiculous that you wouldn't let us do our own questioning and leave it at that."

Sage, so that was pretty blonde's last name. Her aura seemed to go darker as the Alchemist said she was not an accomplice of Rose.

The bickering between the Alchemist and Hans was driving me crazy, pun most definitely intended- it was almost as bad as spirit crazy. I closed my eyes trying to control the headache growing in me, only my attention was caught when Hans asked pretty blonde—my bad—Sage, if she knew any of us, to which her response was "No."

The interrogation by Hans kept on going, and I kept myself quiet as Sage answered the questions. A bit too convincing, but I knew it was partially lies; her aura gave her away. Suddenly, the Alchemist guy moved in front of Sage—Jean... no, Sean— whatever his name was, and made a comment on how she's innocent. His aura went pink, meaning that he had a crush on pretty blonde. Well, she wasn't a bad sight at all; she was just too uptight. A bit of booze on her and I wondered what kind of things it might make her do.

This dude stood quiet throughout the whole interrogation; however, he called my attention when he reacted slightly when he looked at the picture of the dead Moroi on the table. However, Lissa caught it too, and she stood up as the older Alchemist and Hans stood there bickering, toward Brian and Sage. I heard what Lissa asked them, but my headache was taking its toll on me, I closed my eyes again, and when I opened them, the interrogation was over.

We all moved toward the door, except Eddie, apparently Hans was still going to torture him or something. The bickering continued, but I could only think 'Well, finally fresh air! I can light a cigarette now.'

As we headed to the exit, someone was entering. It was Abe, and he gave a cold smile to Sage. It was only me who saw how her eyes went wide, but she quickly changed her demeanour to the typical uptight one she had throughout the interrogation. The Alchemists parted ways with us, being guarded by a couple of Dhampirs.

When we were a considerable amount of distance away from the Alchemists, Abe's expression changed to one of exasperation, a bit intimidating in my opinion.

"That was Sydney Sage!" said Lissa, "I thought they were all in West Virginia. Why isn't she with Rose?"

"That," added Abe darkly, "Is an excellent question." Abe's expression darkened by the second, it was scary to be honest. What did Sage have to do with him and how did she get involved? I just hope that she didn't have to suffer Abe's wrath. He could probably pull the entire Turkish mafia on her.

"That girl was lying to me," Abe growled, "Every day, all these reports about how quiet and boring it was in West Virginia. I wonder if they even made it to that town. I have to talk to her."

"Good luck," I said to Abe as I finally pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. Rose isn't around, so I guess the promise doesn't apply, right? "I don't think her cronies or the guardians are going to let you near her."

Lissa mentioned how Ian knew about the Moroi, and to everyone's surprise, I added, "Yes, Ian definitely had a reaction. He's also got a crush on that Sydney girl." Why did I sound so sour when I said he had a crush on her? Maybe because it was ridiculous how uptight they were, and that they could in fact push aside their responsibilities and feel emotions and shit. Yeah, it was probably that.

"I saw that too." added Lissa.

"She seems kind of uptight," I said, and I found myself frowning as I said it. "But maybe their kind goes for that kind of thing."

"That crush might actually be useful," Abe mused. "You women don't know the power you wield. Have you seen that guardian your aunt's dating? Ethan Moore?"

"Yes," groaned Christian. "Don't remind me."

"Tasha _is_ pretty hot, though," I noted, mocking Christian, to which he responded, "That is not cool."

They went on and on about Tasha, as I silently smoked my cigarette. Once Abe left, Christian, Lissa and I headed to the testing building.

"Boy is he pissed," I said, stating the obvious.

"Do you blame him? He just lost membership in the evil mastermind club. His brilliant plan fell apart, and now his daughter's missing when he thought she was somewhere safe," stated Christian.

I stayed quiet, watching how Lissa was being cheered on by the Moroi at the entrance of the building. She was then rushed to a room, where the last test was being held, leaving Christian and I standing there.

So much has happened in the last minutes, I just hope this plan turns out well. 'Little Dhampir, be safe.' I thought.

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_BTW guys, I'm an esl person, meaning "english as second language", my native language is actually spanish, but I've been speaking english most of my life too. :P_

_Please review and tell me what you think of this fan-fic! __More reviews mean: quicker updates! :)_

_Anyway, enjoy :D_


	3. Chapter 3 - The Sun

_Third Chapter is up! Thanks for following the story and reviewing. I woke up to more than 400 hits, and I was simply shocked. Of course, that's big for me, this is my first fanfic after all. Anyway, this chapter was harder to write, it is still on Adrian's POV, and here I end all the association's to Richelle's storyline version._

_Adrian's POV is so hard to write, yet I had fun trying to figure it out but I still couldn't play a lot with his character. I don't really know how to write a GOOD POV for Adrian, but I can keep on trying, my dear friends. SYDRIAN'S COMING SOON, I CAN ALMOST TASTE IT! :)_

_Thanks to my Beta: **CherrySlushLover**, BTW, check her fanfic out "Embracing the truth", it's amazing. :D_

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD IS THE BOSS AND SHE OWNS VAMPIRE ACADEMY, BLOODLINES AND SHE'S CLOSE TO OWN MY SOUL... SHE'S JUST THE HBIC. OK.**

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_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

I didn't really want to hang out at a place where half the Moroi at Court were cheering and screaming and debating whether their candidate held better political views than the others. My head was throbbing with the headache that I had been inflicted with earlier at the interrogation, and I knew spirit was at its peak right now. What I needed was that pull of unconsciousness that alcohol gave me, that sweet surrender to obliviousness that drove craziness away.

I walked away from the building, maybe when I got to my room I could get wasted and just pass out on my bed. That was so unlike me! Normally, when I had a free night, I went out and partied. My headache had me pulling my hair out, and I got so distracted that I took the long way to get to my room, passing next to the Court's front gates. How the fuck did I get here?

As I was about to turn around, I saw a glimpse of blonde hair standing at the gates. I only saw her back, but it reminded me of someone I saw just an hour ago. That couldn't be Sage, the hair length was almost the same, but this girl was wearing all black, and had more muscles. She turned around and I could see her well—not Sage—I let out a sigh of relief. Sure, Sage's hair was pretty, beautiful even—God, this craziness was making me imagine things! I couldn't have been infatuated so soon by her hair, or her beautiful golden eyes, or the sexy mysteriousness she emanated from her aura, or—no, I'm dating someone-stop it-Ivashkov! I mentally rebuked myself.

I tried to distract myself by studying the Guardian's face, and it felt so familiar. Then it hit me, she was Lissa's guardian at LeHigh, Serena.

I approached her slowly, coolly walking with a hand in my pocket as I raised my hand to greet her; she slightly bowed when she saw me. "Lord Ivashkov, how may I help you?" she asked.

"Call me Adrian, please. And I'm just strolling around, getting some fresh air. Lately it is unbelievably stressful around here." I casually said, letting out a sigh and trying to make conversation. "I thought elections were stressful only for Guardians and candidates, but it is placing its weight on everyone."

"Yes, demand for more security has grown at Court. Guardians from all over the world have come to provide more stability to the elections. I was teaching at a school, and was called in for duty here since it is summer. The levels of stress are out of range." she said, as she let out a sigh too. We comfortably stood in silence for a while. She then said, "It's late, Lord Iva—Adrian, you must be tired after all this news at Court, and the sun is about to come out."

"Yes, I am. It was nice seeing you, Serena." I said, hoping I didn't sound too flirtatious. I was going out with another Guardian, for God's sake. I managed to put the gears in my head working, maybe Serena knew something about Grant, and Lissa wanted to know all she could. "Are you standing guard all night here?" I asked, maybe if she was I could get Lissa to talk to her later.

"Yes, Lord Ivashkov—um, Adrian." she said, as she raised her eyebrow, "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all, I just admire the dedication of you guardians. Good night." I said, as I gave one of my charming smiles. What drove me to do that? It can't be the fact that she's blonde just like—damn it, Ivashkov, you're doing it again!

"Very well. Thank you, Lord Ivashkov," she uncomfortably said. "Good night." She bowed and returned to her post. I walked away- stupid Spirit. Finally, I could get back to my room to black it out, but I also felt good for hopefully having found some kind of clue to solve this mystery; I wasn't as useless as everyone thought I was.

I woke up a few hours later, the headache numbed by the alcohol I had had before passing out. The sun was still high up in the sky, but it was probably a good time to tell Lissa what I had in mind. Before I headed to Lissa's room, I drank a couple of shots and lit a few cigarettes; no one could tell me that I couldn't. I needed my head to be a bit 'clear' today.

I knocked on Lissa's door and entered. "Get up guys," I said enthusiastically. "We've got a visit to pay."

"What are you talking about?" Lissa asked.

"I am _not_ hanging out with Blake Lazar again." Christian shot me a warning look as he said through gritted teeth.

"You and me both," I said. "I've got someone better. And more attractive. Remember how you were wondering how close Serena was to Grant? Well, looks like you can ask her yourself. I found her. And yes, you're welcome."

"Last I heard, Serena had been sent away to teach at a school. One on the east coast, I think." said Rose's mom Janine Hathaway, with a frown.

"She is, but since it's summer, they brought her back here to help with election crowd control. She's working the front gates." I said with a proud grin in my face. I saw how Lissa, Christian and Janine exchanged looks.

"She's there right now? At the gates?" Lissa asked me.

"Yup." I said, "And we probably don't even need to buy her a drink."

We got to the gates, and Serena saw me first. I glanced at her apologetically for the surprise I saw on her face when she saw that Lissa was with me.

Lissa asked her about my dead great-aunt's plans to make Moroi fight, but Serena didn't want to give anything away because it was 'the queen's orders'. Some bullshit, she was dead!

Finally, I bluntly said, "My aunt's dead, and you said yourself that you might be talking to the future queen." Serena looked at me and took a deep breath as she finally told Lissa that she could gather the names of the Moroi involved.

We walked away, and I don't know why, but I felt exhausted. I wanted to go to sleep again. The guys went back to Lissa's room, and I went to mine. God, I missed my little Dhampir. Maybe she was asleep, and I could try getting to her in a spirit dream.

She was asleep indeed, so I created a dream in St. Vladimir's library and pulled her into it. Lacking creativity, Ivashkov? A library?

Rose materialized in front of me, and I was so happy to see her. Her aura was shining. Hell, her aura was brighter than the sun!

"Wow," was the only thing that I could say.

"Wow what?" she asked.

"Your... your aura. It's... amazing. It's shining. I mean, it always shines, but today... well, I've never seen anything like it. I didn't expect that after everything that happened."

"After what happened?" Rose asked back, tensed.

I laughed, walking closer to Rose. I patted my pocket for a cigarette, but stopped myself in time.

"Oh, come on. Everyone's talking about it. How you and Belikov kidnapped Jailbait—what's up with that anyway?—and coerced that Alchemist. It's the hottest news around here. Well, aside from the elections. The last test is coming up."

"That's right..." Rose seemed to calm down as she murmured low enough so that a human wouldn't be able to listen to it.

"Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day anyway?" I asked. "I didn't really expect to catch you. I figured you'd be on human schedule."

"It... it was kind of a rough night, what with escaping a legion of Guardians and all." I squeezed her hand to give reassurance that everything was going to be alright, but she didn't squeeze back. I frowned; it must have been a really rough night then. I smiled at her shortly.

"Well, I'd worry more about your old man than them. He is pissed that you didn't stay put. And that he can't get in to see the Alchemists. Believe me, he's been trying."

Rose had some crazy idea (seriously, all of her ideas are crazy to some extent) and explained how she needed to meet the Alchemists, and told me to get Mikhail to go to some hell-loose restaurant close to Court so that the plan could be carried out. So I accepted undoubtedly.

I quickly got out of bed to find Mikhail and tell him the plan right away, no one else needed to know- Lissa would be too caught up making her pre-election speech. Christian, well, he was Lissa's charm; she needed him by her side, so he was too useless to help me right now. I guessed I was on my own. I missed the speech ceremony, planning everything out with Mikhail; no way was I going to stay in Court if there was a way I could see Rose. We set out a bit after the crowd went wild, which was the perfect moment seeing as most guardians would be needed at the hall to control the Moroi.

We got to the restaurant, and shortly we saw another car pulling up in the dark parking lot. Mikhail got out, and I followed. I foolishly grinned at the sight of Rose, like any man in love would have if he hadn't seen his girlfriend in days. Then, another spirit user came out of their car, and I saw how hers and Mikhail's aura went passion red for each other. Their reunion held tears as they embraced each other and laid out the plan to meet the Alchemists. Apparently, only Rose and Mikhail were going in.

I walked over to where Jailbait was, and gave her a light punch in the arm. "And I'm going to stay and hear how on earth you got involved with this, Jailbait." She weakly smiled at me and told me she wasn't sure herself. I lightly hugged her reassuringly and smiled at her.

I looked around for Rose, but she was nowhere in sight; I thought I heard her voice behind a car and walked behind it too. "Little dhampir, are you—"

No. No. I should have seen this coming.

I... I should have known better; they were together all this time, they were... Rose... I had walked in to see that Russian, fucking bastard kiss Rose on the forehead.

I felt how my heart broke in tiny pieces, I felt how she ripped every nerve from my body as if it was nothing. All those kisses, the hugs, the smiles shared between us, they were nothing. This was how real sadness felt. I figured it out, having it ripped from me when I thought I had a chance of happiness after being miserable for my whole life. I saw how it was. I should have felt like the shittiest piece of life on Earth right now since she used me, but I didn't. Somewhere along the last days, I realized that I was trying to impress her, that I was trying to be someone I can't be, that I was doing everything for her and I tried to ignore it all, but what about me? Of course I would have to talk to her or maybe I could just ignore her. I felt bad, really bad, but not at my worst, something in me just told me that I could do better; I just had to let it appear before me.

I turned my back on all of them, and with a laugh caught in my throat, I lit a cigar.

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_I still feel so bad for Adrian in this part, but I'm glad this happened because SYDRIAN happens.. and SYDRIAN beats RODRIAN anytime. _

_Please review, it doesn't take that long... I really want to know your opinion, even if it's a bad one, so then I can fix the mistakes. Reviews mean: faster updates! ;D_

_So, read and enjoy! Tell me if I should change something or if it's too slow, I'm trying. :)_

_Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4 - The Earth

_Hey guys, sorry for not updating yesterday, it's was kind of hectic for me, but I'll be able to upload daily from now until the 18th that I start college. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of views and visitors my fanfic has had, reaching over 800! I'm so thankful to Bookninja15 and speztronaut for their reviews, they have helped me a lot. :)_

_From now I can't really say what the chapters are about, it's completely different to the original story, at least what happens._

_This is probably the shortest chapter I will ever have in the entire fanfic, but it is essential for the story to develop. Enjoy :D_

**RICHELLE MEAD IS THE BOSS AND OWNS VA AND BL.**

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_**SYDNEY'S POV**_

At last, the guardians freed us from house-arrest at the hotel. Rose must have solved the case pretty soon, because we were released the day after she came to visit. Stanton was needed at Headquarters as soon as possible to continue with the papers regarding the Moroi change in the crown, and Ian was stationed as the St. Louis librarian, so they both left really quickly leaving me a letter explaining my situation.

Surprisingly, I didn't want to be released, at least not this soon. I didn't stand a chance against the Alchemists and they probably would want to send me to re-education once I got there, and honestly, I was terrified.

To my surprise, however, I was left to retrieve some documents from Court by the Alchemists—at least it gave me more time away from them—so I could take them back to the Headquarters, and since they were extremely important, they needed someone to physically look for them, also some other important mission I was yet to be notified of. I was grateful that I was the Alchemist closest to the place.

I made my way back to Court with the guardians in their SUV around night-time, which was morning for them. I wondered if they would have to take me back to the airport too. I made a mental note to call a cab instead in _my_ morning. When I entered the front gates, the whole place was in turmoil. There were Moroi all over, heading to the main building. To my horror, that was the place I needed to be at.

The Moroi were loud, cheering for their candidates all over the place, screaming the names of the candidates they wanted for the occupation of the throne. I saw with horror and surprise how the SUV slowly drove through the crowd, surrounded by waves of cheering vampires. The ringing of my cell phone brought me back to reality; it was Stanton.

"Miss Sage, I'm terribly sorry for leaving you at the hotel surrounded by Dhampirs, but Mr Jansen and I had to come right away to the Headquarters. I trust you're safe. You also stayed because you have an official mission before heading back. From now on you're going to be the Alchemist supervising the Moroi elections. You are the Alchemist Representative."

"I'm completely safe Ma'am. It is part of my job. I'll do my best to represent of the Alchemists well."

"Remarkable, Miss Sage. I regret having to leave you unaccompanied in that unnatural environment, but I trust you will handle it perfectly."

"Of course, Ma'am, you can count on me."

"I never doubted your efficiency when it comes to professionally handling Vampiric matters. I also look forward to the reports on the elections and the documents you've been sent to look for."

Did Stanton just praise me?

"I'll deliver them once the elections are over, Ma'am."

"Good luck, Miss Sage." She had hung up by the time we entered the building's garage. No matter how much time I spent with Rose and Dimitri, I still felt uneasy in the presence of Dhampirs and Moroi. I still needed to stay at least a week more here at Court. I dismissed that thought by making the cross sign in my left shoulder—the alchemist sign against evil. It made me feel a little better.

I had to accept the fact that Moroi had a great taste in architectural design, the buildings were modern, but still had that classical look to them that made them look anciently regal. I wasn't taken to this part when I was dragged here by guardians. The housing building looked like a five-star hotel, the finishes and details of the building were remarkable, and I wondered if the rest of Court looked like this, but I refused to walk around with the Moroi and Dhampirs all over. I was the only human being within miles, excluding the feeders of course, but I couldn't take that chance. I found myself making the cross in my shoulder again.

The room I was given had a view that literally took my breath away. The window wall was not tinted, and it let in the last few rays of sun from noon. The buildings at court were starting to light up, reminding me that their day was just beginning. I settled in and took a well-deserved relaxing bath with the essential oils I found next to it. The bathroom was a gorgeous sight, its walls were emerald-green marble, so dark that they strangely reminded me of some eyes I had probably seen in the last few days, but I couldn't quite remember whose, it had been chaos recently.

I ordered a salad via room service, because I was not going to leave the room until it was completely necessary; I didn't want to become a snack. At least I had satellite TV, my own books, and precious architectural sights within my own room.

My studying of the room was interrupted a few minutes later when a knock on my door dragged me back to reality. I opened the door to find a cute Moroi guy dressed in white about my age, maybe a bit older than me, with a tray of food in a cart. He had the common slender, tall and pale complexity of the Moroi, chestnut hair and royal blue eyes. He was very, very cute—but- Sydney Katherine Sage, what are you thinking? This was the second time I had thought a Moroi was cute or handsome or something—the first being Adrian Ivashkov—and then it hit me. His eyes were the emerald ones I had thought about earlier. Stupid, Sydney, stupid, why are you—

"Excuse me, Miss? May I come in to drop the food?" said the Moroi guy, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, yes, of course, sorry." I opened the door completely to let him through, something I shouldn't have done. What if he decided to make me his snack? I never took my eyes from him as he walked back to the door.

"Excuse me again, Miss, but are you an alchemist? I've heard of your works, and it's amazing how you work with us, regardless of your dislike to us, if I'm correct. It's admirable how professional you manage to be. It truly is something wonderful." said the guy as he cocked his head to one side, catching me completely off guard. Was he being sarcastic or was he just being nice? He didn't look like an evil creature of the night, at all, he was too cute.

"Yes, um... Thank you." I said, stuttering. I was still confused and totally unprepared for that.

"Sky, my name's Sky, short for Skylar," he said as he stretched his hand for me to shake, a full-fledged, cheeky smile appearing on his face. "Nice to meet you Miss..."

"Sage, Sydney Sage. Nice to meet you too." I said shyly, taking longer than necessary to respond and unsure of shaking his hand, but I did. I had to maintain my professional façade, and now I considered it a challenge because he _had_ said how admirable we were by putting our fear for them aside and continuing with our work anyway. I was really going to have to interact with these Moroi.

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_Still no Sydrian, but soon, very soon there will be (even I can't wait for it), it might come out unexpected.. or totally expected, which will be unexpected then.. or... yeah._

_Anyway, please read and review, I appreciate constructive critiques. Reviews mean: faster updates! :D _

_Thanks :}_


	5. Chapter 5 - The Water

_Yay! Another Chapter is up, and I'll have to tell you, this is probably my favorite Chapter so far, it was so much fun writing it and I think you guys will like it, I hope._

_I threw in a Richelle quote from BL that I SIMPLY COULDN'T AVOID PUTTING, it was perfect for the moment, you guys will notice. _

_My amazing Beta: **CherrySlushLover **:3_

**DISCLAIMER: VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES BELONG TO THE FLAWLESS RICHELLE MEAD.**

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_**SYDNEY'S POV**_

I stood in the middle of the hall, surrounded by Dhampirs and Moroi, ensuring that the elections went right and jotting down every miniscule detail about everything that was happening. After all, I was the only Alchemist witnessing the elections. I came to Court a few days ago, and I still hadn't seen Rose or Dimitri. I had barely caught a glimpse of Lissa and Christian, the black-haired, icy blue eyes guy. Adrian wasn't anywhere in sight either. I didn't even know why I was looking for him or the others, but if Rose trusted them, then I can say they were the closest people to me in here.

The place came to order, after an old Moroi guy spoke in a microphone, his deep voice catching everyone's attention.

"We have all gathered here at Court to follow the traditions that Moroi have had for thousands of years. Every generation of Moroi has had a King or Queen to guide us through prosperity and peace. In the light of recent events, we have lost our dear and beloved Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. May her soul rest in peace." He paused and lowered his head as a sign of respect and continued shortly. "Due to law and traditions, we must choose a new King or Queen from our twelve royal families. Until now, we have seen what they have to offer, we have seen their dedication and we have seen them overcome the challenges set. It is now the time to choose a new ruler, that will shower us with his or her knowledge, and guide us to a better future. I present to you, the three nominees for the throne. Rufus Tarus, Marie Conta and Vasilisa Dragomir."

The three royals stepped up to the stage, and they all held regal stances and presences, but Lissa seemed like she was the queen already. Everything about her looked queenly- she held herself gracefully, and although I knew she was nervous, she didn't convey it at all. She stood beautifully, looking ahead at the crowd, nodding and smiling to people. She had to win. They all sat in the seats at the middle of the stage; Lissa's being silver and green.

"We will now proceed to voting, starting on the Badica clan."

"Vasilisa Dragomir."

On and on went the voting, the last family to vote was the Ivashkov one. Lissa won the elections with 6 votes from the Dragomir, Szelsky, Ivashkov, Badica, Ozera and Voda families, Rufus with 4 from the Tarus, Zeklos, Dashkov and Lazar families, and Marie with 2 from the Conta and Drozdov families. The crowd was cheering loudly, and many others looked extremely upset. Lissa Dragomir was chosen as the new Queen of the Court. If I recalled correctly, from Moroi history, there was once a Queen that was the same age as Lissa, Alexandra, and she ruled the Moroi grandiosely.

The elections were over by sunrise, I needed sleep _and_ my schedule had got messed up.

"Surprised by the outcome, Sage?" A voice behind me surprised me and almost made me jump. I turned around to find Adrian Ivashkov glancing over my shoulder to the notes I had scribbled and immediately hid them by pressing them to me. "Your surprised face can't hide it."

"Of course I'm surprised. It has been centuries since a Moroi this young has been elected King or Queen, it is unheard of in our generation." I said nervously turning around to look at the front- he was too close. "Well, my job here in the elections is done. I must get going. If you'll excuse me."

I stood up, surprised when Adrian stood up too. What was he doing? He quickly walked to block me and turned around to face me, leaning in so his face was at eye-level and just inches from mine. "And where exactly are you going, Sage? Don't you hate Moroi and Dhampirs? This place is crowded with Moroi and—" He spoke out blurry words too fast, and I smelled alcohol and smoke on him, probably the reason why I couldn't understand what he said. His hair was styled to look messy, but still made him look painfully attractive. He wore a black silk, long-sleeve shirt, with jeans and dark blue leather, boat shoes. His emerald eyes staring straight at me, a snarky smile on his face.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I didn't get the last part," I said, backing off whilst rounding him as I stared back at him. I then broke eye contact and kept on walking, trying to brush him off, but he kept on following me. When I saw he wasn't going to leave, I said, "I'm on an official mission from the Alchemists, and I am not allowed to reveal any information."

"007, Alchemist Sydney Sage, is on an official mission. Don't distract her, people." said Adrian smiling as he raised his hands placing them behind his head as he kept walking by my side. "May I be the side-kick, 007 agent Sage?" he said, as he cocked his head to the side to look at me.

I had to smile at that; the idea of being a secret agent wasn't that far from being an Alchemist, we were in fact guardians of secrets. The main one being: vampires. He was still staring at me, I could tell, and I concluded that it must have been from my smile. I quickly got serious again because I didn't want to be a topic of amusement and stared straight ahead whilst increasing my pace. Why was he following me?

As if he could read my mind, he matched my pace and added, "I'm really bored here, Sage, and I'm trying to avoid a confrontation with a certain little Dhampir for as long as I can. My dear cousin, Lissa, is now a Queen, and her blue-eyed companion is no fun without her. And Castile is still being questioned. I figured out you were the hottest thing around here, beside elections. So, I'm here." After he spoke, he retrieved a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. I crinkled my nose and looked at him as though I was disappointed. He shrugged it off and continued to follow me.

The hottest thing around? Was I seriously a hot topic in Court? The thought of it made me shiver and I made the sign against evil in my left shoulder.

"What is that?" asked Adrian, "That thing you did in your shoulder, and don't tell me you were cleaning it from dust. I'm drunk, but I can still perceive details, at least a bit. I'm curious. Tell me Sage."

"A sign from the Alchemists." I said. I wasn't lying. It would be completely unprofessional to tell him I did it because I was thinking of Moroi and wanted to feel at least a little bit safe from them. He seemed sceptical, but shrugged it off and kept walking by my side.

I didn't dare asking myself a mental question, it was scary enough knowing that he answered one I asked just a few minutes ago. Suddenly, Adrian started laughing hysterically at the roof, cigarette on hand, as he walked to the wall for support, placing his right arm on it, and then his head. I paused and looked all around us, the hall—lit only by rays of sunlight entering the windows—was empty, and then I heard it. He was sobbing heavily, and then he fell to his knees. I hurried to him- I didn't know why I did; he wasn't hurt at all, at least not physically. His sobs were uncontrolled, wild, and I could hear the pain in them. I didn't know his story, I didn't know what he has been through, I didn't know why he acted like this, but maybe this was why he drowned himself in alcohol and smoke. He was scarred, a marred soul, and I genuinely felt sorry for him, even though he was a Moroi. He wasn't so different to humans, on the emotional part at least.

I tried to speak to calm him, but no words came out. I shouldn't even be worrying about him, but it would have been terribly mean and not human to just leave him there in his misery alone. I decided to sit on his left, with my back on the wall. I waited for him to come out from his crisis; if he wanted to be alone he would have told me. A few minutes went by, and he stared directly at me. His emerald eyes were covered in tears, red from crying.

"Tell me Sage, has your heart been broken before? Has your heart been ripped out, stepped on, chewed, thrown around, destroyed and then set on fire?" whispered Adrian, "Because mine has."

"I—"

"Don't answer, Sage," he interrupted me as he chuckled, "It was a rhetorical question. I'm so sorry that you had to see me like this, on my weakest moment, I just—I can't—so much has happened lately."

"Mr Ivashkov, I'm sure that you can overcome whatever it is that is causing you grief and misery," I whispered back, trying to sound reassuring, "And I'm also sure that you're a strong person, not one that can be easily thrown to the floor."

He smiled at this and looked up at me saying, "Sydney—may I call you Sydney?—by this point, I think you can call me Adrian. You have seen me cry after all; I have pretty much thrown my biography at your feet the moment I broke down, so don't worry because I already trust you." He paused, and then went on by saying, "I'm already on the floor though. I truly appreciate the faith you have in me, but I'm no way as strong as you portray me. I'm a coward; I run from all my problems and drown myself in these God forsaken vices. I'm going to die with shrunken lungs and damaged kidneys. I'm miserable and I'm nothing." He then stared at the floor and closed his eyes. "Nothing." he whispered.

I removed the lit cigarette from his left hand, receiving no complaints from him. I stood up and crushed the lit end on the floor, extinguishing the fire, and threw the butt in a nearby trash can. I then kneeled beside him again, and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. I was going to censure myself for this later, but I felt miserable just by watching him being miserable. For some odd reason, I wanted to make him feel better; something in me couldn't handle watching people beat themselves up. He looked up at me; I could sense some strong emotion swirling deep within his eyes. I was surprised by the intensity of his gaze.

"My God, Sage. Your eyes." whispered Adrian as he placed a hand on my cheek. I flinched.

"What about them?" I couldn't pull back, no matter how hard I tried. How could I let him get this close to me?

"The colour," he breathed. "Your eyes in the sunlight. They're amazing... like molten gold. I could paint those—" his hand fell back and he smiled, looking away. "Sorry Sage, I know how much you hate us, I shouldn't have done that."

He stood up quickly, looking away from me as if embarrassed, and offered his hand to help me stand up. I took it. It shocked me how warm and soft his hands were on mine. I quickly returned to reality and pulled my arm back. I could still feel the lingering sparks of where his skin had met mine.

"Sorry. I just—" He turned around, hands running through his hair as he walked away. Then he turned again, and from a distance said, "Thank you, Sydney." He started walking again, and this time, he disappeared around a corner without turning back.

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_Read, enjoy and review! Reviews mean: faster updates! (You should have noticed by now, that this is kind of my mantra) :)_

_Thanks. :}_


	6. Chapter 6 - The Wind

_Hey guys! Sorry for not updating yesterday, I had writer's block. I really tried to update, but I didn't really like how the chapter turned out, so I made a second take today, and here it is. Hope you like it, it was extremely difficult to write this one, but yeah... Enjoy!_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it, after all, it is my first fanfic ever. Thank you so much! :D_

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD OWNS VA AND BL. i love her okay.**

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_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

Why was spirit attacking me in the least appropriate moments? I really didn't care what strangers thought of me, but Sage—God, Sage— when she saw me cry... cry! For fuck's sake, I was crying like a baby, and all of this because of spirit. I didn't want her to see me cry; she looked so strong back in the interrogation, and I knew she wanted to cry a couple of times, but she never backed down, she was so strong, unlike me. I was being so useless and pathetic and miserable. I was undoubtedly losing it.

I tried sleeping when I got back to my room, but it was useless. It was always a haze when I tried to sleep. I usually ended up waking up even more tired than I was the day before, so I just gave up trying to succumb to sleep for a few days. Instead I turned to anything that would numb the pain. There were bottles of almost every kind of alcohol in there and butts of cigars all over. Even I was disgusted by myself. Christian and Lissa tried to get me out of my room a couple of times, but it was useless.

What got me out of my room was remembering that Sage was still around Court, or had to be, seeing as Coronation was taking place in a few days. Although she had no business with me, she still cared for me when I broke down, I had to at least thank her for that, and also apologize for what she'd seen, and I kind of owed her for it, to be honest.

I stood up from my bed—the sun was out—and slowly made it to the bathroom. Supporting myself in the sink, I turned it on and splashed water on my face. I looked up at my reflection, result of the last couple of days and no blood.

"I'm a mess," I muttered to my reflection, "You're a mess." Fatigue was everywhere in my face, I looked like I hadn't slept in days. My eyes were all red, there were bags under it, and I looked high. 'Hell, Ivashkov, you look like fucking hell,' I said to my reflection.

The only thing I could do to was to try and look like a normal person would. I took a shower, and not even that did it, as I still reeked of alcohol and smoke. None of the clothes in my wardrobe really matched the mood I was in, so I settled for a pair of leather shoes, jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

I exited my room, taking the longest I could before reaching my destination, looking around for a brush of blonde streaks under the sun or around a corner, any place where Sage would most likely be if she was in her secret mission or escaping from Moroi presence. Unfortunately, I didn't see her, and I had to give up on looking for her, at least until I was done with my talk with Rose. I headed to the Royal Palace, where Rose was being taken care of. Several guardians stood outside, but they let me go in as soon as they recognized me. Being one of the Queen's close friends sure has its perks, and of course the one and only nephew of my aunt Tatiana. I took the stairs to the floor Rose was staying at. If I could delay this talk as much as I could, I would. But now was the time.

I stood outside of Rose's door for several minutes, unsure of knocking. Was I really ready to have this conversation? Probably not, but I had to get this over with.

I finally knocked, to which I had no response. I knocked again, and tried the handle—it was unlocked—empty. The room looked calm, as if nothing happened, there were clothes scattered on a few chairs over at the window. Rose was probably out with Lissa or him, the clothes were all here, and so she hadn't escaped or been kidnapped. I decided to wait in her room and sat on the bed. I looked around, paying attention to the details of the room. The room was huge, with gilded furniture. The bed had a red velvet mattress thick enough to be another mattress. I tilted my head back, thinking of the recent events that had occurred. I felt miserable.

I had my eyes closed for a few moments, when I felt Lissa's spirit getting closer and closer. The door opened to Lissa and Rose, just as I turned to face them. I gave a forced smile to both of them.

"Your majesty." I said, almost bowing.

"Stop," scoffed Lissa, "You should know better."

"I've never known better," I replied back. "You should know that."

She smiled at the comment, but quickly grew serious as she realized the situation that was about to be unleashed.

"Well," she said awkwardly, "I've got some queenly things to do."

"I'm sure you do," said Rose as they exchanged glances, "It's okay, Lis. I'll be okay. Go."

Lissa left the room, and it was just Rose and me.

The forced smile on my face was still there, as if nothing had happened, but I knew better than fooling her- she knew I was forcing it, but it was me who I was truly trying to fool.

"Adrian—" she started, but I interrupted her.

"Let's start with you, little Dhampir," I said softly. "Was it going on before you left Court?"

She took a few seconds to reply, as if thinking her answer thoroughly. "No." she said as she shook her head. "I was with you. Just you."

"Well. That's something." I replied coldly. "Better some rekindling of sparks in the heat of battle or quest or whatever, than you cheating right in front of me."

She shook her head frantically. "No, I swear. I didn't—nothing happened then... not until—"

"Later?" I guessed, "Which makes it okay?"

"No! Of course not, I..." she paused. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What I did was wrong. I didn't mean for it to happen. I thought... I really thought he and I were done. I was with you. I wanted to be with you. And then, I realized that—"

Oh, I got it. She really did think that it was okay to just cheat on me, even if she—and her aura—both said it didn't happen, because she had the great, fucking revelation that he was the love of her life and they needed to be together regardless of whatever fucking reason it shouldn't have happened?

"No, no—stop." I held a hand up; as I tried to control the rage I had inside of me. "I really do not want to hear about the great revelation you had about how you guys were always meant to be together or whatever it was."

She had no answer to that, she just stared at me. I ran a hand through my hair, shaken.

"Really, it's my fault. It was there. A hundred times there. How often did I see it? I knew. It kept happening. Over and over, you'd say you were through with him... and over and over, I'd believe it... no matter what my eyes showed me. No matter what my heart told me. My. Fault." I pointed at myself with each of the last two words, emphasizing the obvious.

Of course, why couldn't I just accept it? If I had known that nothing was going to change by Rose being with me, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have had my heart shattered; I wouldn't have my heart thrown back at me like if it was a worthless piece of crap. What I had for her was so strong, and she had just used me as a second choice. The worst was that I knew it, and I still hoped that she would accept me. I just—

"Adrian—"

"I loved you!" I yelled angrily as I stood up so quickly that I got dizzy- spirit was not helping. "I loved you, and you destroyed me. You took my heart and ripped it up. You might as well have staked me!" I walked toward Rose, a hand gripping the shirt over my chest. "I. Loved. You. And you used me the whole time."

"No, no. It's not true. I wasn't using you. I loved you. I still do, but—" she started.

The fact that she could still lie in my face and say she loved me, disgusted me.

"Rose, come _on_." I said exasperated.

"I mean it! I do love you." She stood up and looked me in the eye. "I always will, but we're not... I don't think we work as a couple."

"That's a bullshit breakup line, and you know it." I said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not... I'm not the one for you." she said as she looked down.

"Because you're with another guy?"

"No, Adrian. Because... I don't. I don't know. I don't... I don't balance you like you need." She looked up at me again.

This is it, now what the fuck does that even mean?

"What the hell does that mean?" I exclaimed, staring angrily at Rose; I expected a fucking good explanation for that line.

"The fact that you have to ask says it all. When you find that person... you'll know," she paused. "And I know this sounds like another bullshit breakup line, but I really would like to be your friend."

I stared at Rose, rendered speechless at her thoroughly studied explanation of "love". I laughed at what must be the most ridiculous of explanations.

"You know what's great? You're serious. Look at your face." I gestured at it. "You really think it's that easy, that I can just sit here and watch your happy ending? That I can watch you getting everything you want as you lead your charmed life?"

"Charmed!" she snapped out. "Hardly. Do you know what I've gone through in the last year?"

"And yet, here you are, triumphant after it all. You survived death and freed yourself from the bond. Lissa's queen. You got the guy and your happily ever after."

She turned around and walked away as she said, "Adrian, what do you want me to say? I can apologize forever, but there's nothing else I can do here. I never wanted to hurt you; I can't say that enough. But the rest? Do you really expect me to be sad about everything else having worked out? Should I wish I was still accused of murder?"

"No," I said, staring at the back of her head. "I don't want you to suffer. Much. But the next time you're in bed with Belikov, please stop a moment and remember that not everyone made out as well as you did."

She turned back to face me, "Adrian, I never—"

"Not just me, little Dhampir," I added, trying to calm spirit and rage. "There's been a lot of collateral damage along the way whilst you battled against the world. I was a victim, obviously. But what about Jill? "What happens to her now that you've left her to the royal wolves? And Eddie? Have you thought about him? And where's your Alchemist?"

She stared at me speechless, and lowered her face as I stared at her back intensely. Jill was now going to have to live under the influence of other royals that would love to manipulate her. Castile now had marks on his record, because of _her_. And Sage, although she was given this super-secret mission, the Alchemist made it clear that her actions were going to be discussed when she got back, and although I had no idea what her punishment was going to be, it couldn't be good by the way Sage's aura turned indigo—meaning fear—every time Stanton said that they were going to deal with her. I was sincerely worried about her- about everyone.

"Victim," blurted Rose out of nowhere. "That's the difference between you and me."

"Huh?" I was caught off guard, "What are you talking about?"

"You said you were a victim. That's why... that's why ultimately; you and I aren't matched for each other. In spite of everything that's happened, I've never thought of myself that way. Being a victim means you're powerless. That you won't take action. Always... always I've done something to fight for myself... for others. No matter what."

A wave of fury, rage and spirit craziness settled on me.

"That's what you think of me? That I'm lazy? Powerless?" I said; I was on the verge of falling in to the crazy side of spirit.

"No," blurted out Rose. "I think you're amazing. I think you're strong. But I don't think you've realized it—or learned how to use any of that."

"This," I said as I walked to door, "was the last thing I expected. You destroy my life and then feed me inspirational philosophy."

"I'm just telling you the truth. You're better than this... better than whatever it is you're going to do now."

I placed a hand on the door handle, and gave the coldest look—I didn't even know I had a cold look—to Rose.

"Rose, I'm an addict with no work ethic who's likely going to go insane. I'm not like you. I'm not a superhero."

"Not yet." she said.

I scoffed as I shook my head and opened the door. On my way out, I stared back. "The contract's null and void, by the way."

I turned around and shut the door so loudly it shook.

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	7. Chapter 7 - The Growth

_Thank you all for your reviews. Thank you so much for taking your time to read my fanfic, and for following it and favoriting. :D_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's kind of shooting off from here, hopefully it won't be that boring anymore. I just love Sydrian so much..._

_Thanks to my Beta, **CherrySlushLover****, **for revising my fanfic! :')_

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD OWNS EVERYTHING IN LIFE. okbye**

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_**SYDNEY'S POV**_

I woke up to the annoying ringing of my cellphone- honestly who calls in the middle of the ni—wait, the sun was out. I almost swore as I quickly unscrambled myself from the sheets to look for my cellphone. The irregular schedule of Moroi and Dhampirs was taking it's toll on me. I couldn't do anything in _my_ schedule, because none of the Moroi I had to work with were awake, so the most effective way for me to be able to leave Court quickly was by adapting to their schedule to work faster.

I ran to the table where my purse was, and looked for my cellphone. The person calling was Stanton.

"Miss Sage, as you must know, the official Coronation is taking place in a few days from today. You must stay there for the time being and report back to me everyday." said Stanton in her typical business tone.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Absolutely Ma'am, I'm currently working on the documents I was asked to bring back to the Headquarters, there's nothing out of the ordinary to report back. Hopefully, in a few days I'll be out of this place once and for all."

"Good. Once your mission is over, you will report to the St. Louis's HQ on the Detroit incident. It is very important that you don't omit any details and explain thoroughly what you said at the interrogation. It would be a shame having you off field missions for a while. Take care, Miss Sage." she said as I shivered. What if she was talking of re-education when she said "for a while"?

"Of course, Ma'am." I ended the call and sat down in one of the white chairs next to the window where the sunlight could hit my face.

The thought of having to face the Alchemists back in St. Louis was terrifying. Re-education was meant for Alchemists that spent too much time with vampires, and had their views changed in a way that wasn't the Alchemist way. I still held Alchemist views, I still thought of Moroi are unnatural, though not the worst,asthey didn't kill to obtain their blood. Strigoi, the undead vampires, were the worst. They were blood-sucking creatures of the night, with no sense of humanity in them that would kill just for the thrill of it- at least Moroi still had feelings and self-control.

That reminded me of a Moroi- Adrian Ivashkov- actually. He broke down in front of me a couple of days ago, and although I shouldn't even feel sorry or worried about a vampire, I did. The way he cried and the pain in his crying was too deep. I didn't know what happened to him after I left; I hadn't seen him all this time. It wasn't fair for anyone to feel that pain, not Moroi, not humans, not dhampirs. No one.

I shook my head at myself and my thoughts and stood up to go back to bed. But sleep never came. I rolled around unable to close my eyes. I was too terrified of what Stanton had told me to be able to try sleeping. Instead, I rolled out of bed again, and looked through the window. The sun was still out, maybe I could try looking around at the architecture of Court. Since I couldn't sleep, and the Moroi were still asleep, maybe I could do something for myself in this time.

I took a shower to clear my head a bit. After I got out, I dried my hair, and styled it in a bun. The Alchemists sent my bag of clothes the day I got here, so I checked it and put on a white chiffon shirt, a black pencil skirt that reached the knees and sand-colored ballerinas. I was ready to check Court architecture. I still carried around my chemistry set, because you never knew what you might encounter.

I exited my building- it looked like a very modern hotel from both inside and outside- it was like finding a city within a forest. The sight was beautiful, to be honest. Court was surrounded by woods, so their identities could be better protected from humans and it could make our job easier. It was a mix of the modern and nature, my building being one of the newest looking buildings around. The dominant style of Court was Romanesque and Gothic, which I knew was the style back in Romania, where most Moroi families come from. This place had the marvelous advantage of being able to have both modern and antique buildings in one place where both complemented each other.

The walk around Court took me about 3 hours, and I wasn't anywhere near finishing, but I was exhausted. I sat down on one of the benches facing the gigantic place in front of me, where the shade of a tree covered me from the last rays of sun. The place where I ended was the Royal Palace—the biggest and most astonishing building at Court—it had huge, black gates surrounding it and there were guards all over the property. If my guess was correct, this is where Lissa must be living now, and Rose too. I wasn't able to continue admiring the palace's architecture for too long, because a voice brought me back to reality.

"Sage? What are you doing here? Are you following me?" asked the voice behind me in a mocking tone.

I turned around to on the bench to find Adrian Ivashkov hidden behind the tree. I was surprised to find him frowning, despite the mockery in his voice; he quickly changed his expression to a softer one, but it was still hard. He was lying down on the grass, arms behind his head. He had his arms and head laid on the bottom of the same tree giving me shade, where the shade of it hid him too. I hadn't see him when I sat down here.

"Why would I follow a Moroi? It's a mere coincidence that you're here the same time I am." I quickly answered, standing to leave. He chuckled. It was true, why would I follow him? We both stayed silent for a while.

"Sage, stay. I need to tell you something," he said as he stared at me, almost begging. He looked completely honest, and any person that cries in front of me, should have my time. I sat down next to him on the grass, a considerable amount of space separating us. "Um, about what you saw a few days ago, I'm sorry that you had to see that. It almost never happens—hell, it has never even happened with anyone before—and... and you were there." he said as he closed his eyes. The way he did conveyed such sadness, I felt sorry for him again. He opened his eyes and looked at me, "Please don't feel sorry for me, Sage. It's just me going crazy because of magic. I can see it in your aura; you have dark spots on it everytime you see me. That, or you hate me."

I gave him a questioning look. "I don't hate you or any other Moroi or Dhampir. I just dislike being near vampires, to be honest. You guys are unnatural, and that magic you can do—with fire, water, earth and air—it is just evil."

"You forgot spirit," added Adrian with a smirk, ignoring my comment on vampires being unnatural. "The best and worst of all elements."

"Spirit?" I gave him one my questioning looks. "Alchemists have no records of such element, we really don't know what it does or how it works, and the only Moroi who can wield it are the Queen and Sonya Karp. That we know of." I said, expecting him to come out with a witty response on how I was staring at another spirit user.

"Hm, yeah, but you are staring at another spirit user," said Adrian, "There are not many Spirit users out there. Lissa's one, I am one, Sonya's another. So far, I only know of us." He straightened up to lean on the tree, flexing his right leg, and added with a cheeky smile, "I can volunteer to help you to study spirit. I'm sure you must be... anxious to study and learn more about... these things. Because, you like learning, don't you?"

I stared at him, speechless. I did want to learn more about spirit, but only because it frightened me, not because I was genuinely interested in it.

"Volunteer? You want to be like a lab rat?" I asked, incapable of formulating a smarter question than that. He caught me off guard by saying that. He smiled at the fact that he had caught me off guard, something in my aura must have given me away. He got closer to me so he could whisper.

"No Sage, I volunteer to help you and your Alchemists so they can learn more about Spirit," said Adrian, changing his smile to a frown, "Maybe even I can learn about it and eventually control it."

I frowned at the last part. "So you say you can't control it, the Spirit?" I asked, suddenly interested in the change of expression on his face as he said 'eventually control it'.

"Barely. It takes a great amount of concentration and mental strength to control it, otherwise you go crazy. I try to control it with my stupid vices—drinking and smoking. You had a glimpse of it a few days ago, I was not being me," he said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "When you use too much spirit, you are using your own mental and physical strength, unlike the other elements, which come from the Earth. That is why, we Spirit users have to be extremely careful when using it. It is addicting, and we get caught up in the craziness it brings if we use too much of it." He then paused a bit and continued, "It brings too much darkness, and you start feeling like nothing is right and you just feel like the weight of it is pushing you down, and you would do anythi—sorry, Sage. I'm rambling a bit now." He said supporting his arm on his knee and placing his hand over his eyes as he smirked.

"Does it hurt?" I whispered to him.

"Does what hurt?" He removed the hand from his eyes and stared at me.

"When spirit is taking it's toll on you... you broke down that night, Adrian." He blinked at me several times as if astonished, and cocked his head to the side, faintly smiling.

"Sage, you just called me Adrian, you just said my name... are you alright?" He asked laughing; it was a genuine laugh. His eyes crinkled as he laughed out loud, his chest trembling at the laughter. It made him look his age and jovial for a change.

I couldn't help but smile, it definitely wasn't my intention to call him by his name, at least not out loud, but it felt good to make someone smile after that someone had been gloomy the whole time.

"And you're smiling, Sage. I think I deserve a prize for it," Adrian said smiling as he began standing up, "Come on Sage, it's getting dark, we should go in." It was getting dark, how long did I stayed here with him... alone? He offered both of his hands to help me stand up. I took them, and I couldn't help but feeling tingly where his skin touched mine. Moroi were supposed to be unnatural, how could they be this warm? I quickly dismissed the thought from my head and thanked him for helping me.

"So Sage, how's the secret 007 mission going?" He asked as we headed back to the main building, brushing the dirt off his pants and shirt. I was surprised by how 'casual' he seemed to be with me. Maybe one does earn someone's trust when you have seen them cry.

I couldn't really reply back to his question, because suddenly an explosion blew off at the east side of Court.

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	8. Chapter 7-5 - Rose

_First .5 chapter. This is on Rose's POV, as you can see, these .5 chapters will focus on what happens around Sydrian, that means other situations and/or how these people see the Sydrian 'relationship'. Hope you enjoy these little guys, they will be pretty short compared to Sydney's and Adrian's POVs._

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD = BOSS.**

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_**ROSE'S POV**_

Adrian left, the door slamming shut, whilst the tears ran down from my eyes, unto my cheeks, and then to the floor. I didn't want any of this for him. I truly felt sad for what I did to Adrian, in fact, I wanted to run after him and call him back when he left, even if I didn't have any other word to tell him. I cared for him deeply, though not as a lover, but as a very close friend. I couldn't handle the idea of not having him in my life, but I didn't think he even wanted me in his. I had caused him grief, sadness, and I was pretty sure I did a good job just pushing him to the edge of insanity. Even I wouldn't want me as a friend if I was him. The least I could do was give him space if we were ever to become friends.

I replayed his words in my mind- everything he said was true, but I wasn't the ideal girl for him. Dimitri was my other half, no matter how many miles separated us- in the end we would always meet each other without planning it. With Adrian I felt that miles could separate us, and we would take too long to meet, not even if we arranged a meeting place and time, would we really meet.

My life really was charmed, as he said, I really did get a 'happy' ending, and what did he get? What did Eddie and Jill get? And what about Sydney? Adrian got a broken heart, because of me. Eddie and Jill, well, I pretty much ruined their future. Eddie was already on probation for helping me release Victor Dashkov. Jill was now to live under the burden of being an 'illegitimate' royal child for the rest of her life. Sydney, I hadn't heard anything from her since I went to the hotel. She seemed pretty scared of what she had to face when she got back to the Alchemists. It was so unfair and selfish from my part. At least I wanted to help them, but I was afraid that if I helped, what I'd do was actually make it worse.

My head started banging, and I decided to lie down and get some sleep. I closed my eyes, and then I heard it, a huge explosion somewhere in Court. I jumped from bed, and ran to Lissa, wherever she was.

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_Thanks to sksai (if you're reading this) for your review. I blushed ~^_^~ ... and to all of you who have reviewed and dedicated time to this fanfic. I'm really grateful!_

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	9. Chapter 8 - Elements

_Second entry for today! I have to say that this is the most exciting chapter I've written so far, with many more to come. I loved how it turned out, and even I can't wait to see how it continues from here._

_Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I'm really, really grateful!_

_Hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)_

**_My BETA: CherrySlushLover :D_**

**DISCLAIMER: VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES BELONG TO THE GODDESS RICHELLE MEAD.**

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_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

"You broke down that night, Adrian." Sydney said. She surprised me when she called me Adrian. For someone who hates vampires, she just called one by his name. I cocked my head to the side curiously, and I could feel my lips slowly inch into a smile.

"Sage, you just called me Adrian," I widened my eyes, "You just said my name... are _you_ alright?" I asked as I laughed. I was really laughing, something I hadn't genuinely done for days. I felt tears in my eyes from the laughter- my eyes crinkled as I tried to retain those little bastards in. Who would have thought that Sage—the uptight, constantly serious Sage—would be the one to pull a laugh out of me.

Sage's aura softened, the black spots disappearing, and got back to its yellow color—it was brighter than usual—with purple sparks all over. She smiled as she lowered her head shyly and then looked back at me again. I think she was blushing.

"And you're smiling, Sage. I think I deserve a prize for it," I said laughing, as I placed a hand on the tree and pulled myself up. "Come on Sage, it's getting dark, we should go in."

Although I felt carefree and actually did have fun with Sage out here for a while, it was getting dark. I had no problem with it, but Sage didn't have the enhanced vision Moroi and Dhampirs had. I offered both of my hands to help her stand, she grabbed them; it felt warm and soft where she placed her hands, electricity trickling from her touch. A few nights ago, I offered my hand to her too, but I didn't really feel the full impact of it because spirit was at its peak and I was somewhat drunk. But now, I really felt it, the contact of her skin against mine, even if it was minuscule. We held hands longer someone would usually when offering a hand to someone, and Sage seemed to notice this too. We both let go at the same time. This was so awkward.

"So Sage, how's the secret double o agent mission going?" I asked awkwardly as we both headed to the main building. I avoided eye-contact as I pretended to clean my jeanswith my hands.

I looked back at Sage, as she opened her mouth to reply, but then all hell literally broke loose. An explosion from the east distracted us both from the question. I saw Moroi running from the site, and guardians running _to_the site. I wanted to believe this wasn't an assault resulting from Lissa becoming Queen, but I couldn't think of any other reason this would happen. I looked at Sage, horror written all over her face. She was speechless, staring at the haze of black smoke illuminated by red and orange, rising to the sky, which was slowly disappearing into the darkness of the night.

"Sage." I said, but she didn't seem to hear to me. "Sage!" I said louder, gripping her shoulders and turning her so she faced me.

She looked at me, eyes wide and asked me, "What is happening?"

"I don't know Sage, but we better get safe and go to some building." I looked around, and saw Rose coming out from the distant, palace black gates. Pain shot through me, but I stood still as she ran to us.

"Sydney? What are you doing here?" Rose asked frowning as she stared at Sage. "I thought you were with the Alchemists." She then looked up at me and returned her gaze hastily back to Sage.

"I had business…" started Sydney, but Rose cut her off as she said, "I've got to take you both somewhere safe and look for Lissa. You can't just stand in the middle of nowhere. Follow me."

Sage and I both looked at each other as we started following a panting Rose through some alleys.

"There are Strigoi nearby," blurted out Rose as we paused in between two buildings, "We have to run."

"Strigoi?" Sage asked whispering, "Isn't this place supposed to be ward-protected?"

"Yes," answered Rose, "I don't know what's going on." She turned to both of us and gave us a couple of quick instructions in case we got separated on the run.

"Rose..." I said. Her name felt weird coming out from my mouth now- she seemed to flinch at the name too. "Sage doesn't have our enhanced vision; she can't just go around running in the dark."

She reconsidered and then said, "Ok, Adrian, grab her hand and guide her." She then turned to Sydney as the light slowly dissipated and said, "I know how you dislike Moroi, but I would prefer it if you stay safe and let him guide you, than you tripping over and some Strigoi killing you. I have to go ahead of you and make sure there are no Strigoi lurking around. Please, Sydney?"

Sydney nodded without any fuss, trembling, and I grabbed her hand. She stiffened, but then grabbed it back. Rose went ahead with a stake at hand—I didn't know where it came from—checking each corner and then signaling at us to follow her. We reached an alley a couple of blocks away from the palace, following Rose, but suddenly two Strigoi jumped from the roof on top of Sage and me, making us break the hold of our hands.

The first thought I had was of throwing myself in front of Sage. I did, trying to protect her for as long as possible, or at least until Rose got back here. I managed to land a kick on one of the Strigoi's side, but it grabbed my foot before I could remove it and twisted it so I fell to the floor. Rose was still a few meters ahead. She turned and ran to us when she heard the noise, but it was too late- a Strigoi had already grabbed Sage and immediately bit her whilst dragging her out of the alley, so she was unable to struggle.

The other Strigoi then held me on my neck and slammed me hard against the wall of one of the buildings; I hit him on the face but he barely seemed to notice. He got closer to my neck to bite it, but Rose quickly staked the Strigoi holding me, and fell limp. I fell on my knees and grabbed my throat where the Strigoi had attempted to bite me. But that wasn't important. I yelled at Rose to go save Sage.

"Leave me, I'm fine!" She looked at me sceptically, but I wasn't going to back down. "The Strigoi took Sydney! I'll be right behind. _Go_!" She left me to run, and I quickly got on my feet, following her. She was already a fair distance away when I reached the corner, also pursuing Sage's attackers; Sage was nowhere to be seen. A cold voice behind me made me turn around.

"Look at what I found! Fresh blood, royal blood if I'm not mistaken! Delicious." I saw the red-ringed eyes of a female Strigoi and froze. She smiled a cold smile, and dashed like lightning to where I was standing. She grabbed me by my throat—seriously, what was it with throat grabbing today?—giving me no chance to defend myself, and bit me hard on the neck.

At first, it was pain; only pain that I could register when the fangs pierced my skin, then the high to beat all highs surrounded me like a blanket, taking me to a million places in one second. All my worries faded, I could only focus on the sweet bliss of the endorphin rush I was having. '

This is better than sex, even better than drinking blood, this is—'

I slumped on the floor like a rag doll, feeling dizzy- all sorts of wonderful feelings fading. My vision was blurred as I saw black figures moving around me, dancing, or so it seemed. Then one of them fell to the floor and stayed there, the other figures rushed to me, shaking me, grabbing my face to look at them, and then darkness wrapped around me.

Am I dead? I can't be, I'm breathing and lying on a bed, I just can't seem to open my eyes. I heard a few voices around me, one of them was Rose, and the others were Belikov's, Lissa's and Christian's.

"...have left him alone. Adrian almost died because I listened to him when he asked me to go after the Strigoi that took Sydney, I left! A guardian isn't supposed to leave a Moroi by themselves when there's danger. It was completely irresponsible from my part." said Rose, almost sobbing.

"Rose, it is not your fault; it is no one's fault. You wanted to protect Sydney as much as he did when he told you to look for her. And we found both of them, you don't have to feel guilty." said Belikov, as he tried to calm Rose.

"Where is... Sage, is she... is she okay?" I asked, my throat rough and dry, as I tried to open my eyes. I finally managed to and I saw where I was, I was at the hospital of Court. The walls were all white, typical hospital color. "Sage, is she alright?" I tilted my head to the right, to where Belikov, Lissa and Rose sat. Christian was leaning at the wall, arms crossed.

"Adrian," said Rose as she stood from the chair, "I'm—"

"Where is Sage? Rose." I cut her coolly as I frowned, "Is she okay?"

Belikov stood from the chair too and got closer to the bed. "Check for yourself, she's at your left."

I turned to my left and there she was, a few meters away. She had a gauze pad on her neck, where the Strigoi bit her. She was still asleep, golden eyes closed, blonde hair splayed on the pillow, her chest slowly rising and descending as she was breathing heavily.

"How bad was she when she was found?" I turned my head around to Rose and Belikov. "Did you stake the Strigoi?"

"She was still conscious when the guardians found her, dizzy but conscious. You were in a worst state than she was. The Strigoi somehow let her go, we have no clue why," said Lissa. "She's probably exhausted, and the shock of being in a Strigoi attack must have affected her greatly."

"I should have protected her," I whispered, slamming my eyes shut and placing a hand on top of my eyes. "I saw the Strigoi before they attacked, I could have... I don't know I could have done something to prevent this from happening."

"Adrian, what you did was very brave, and you had your own Strigoi to deal with." added Rose.

"Man, you're worrying more about Sydney, when you had your own little problem," said Christian as he smirked, "I really don't know what else you could have done to protect your Alchemist, you stood in front of her, from what Rose told us, and even attempted some karate move to protect her, you were like her knight in shining armor or something."

"My what?" I asked, stunned my Christian's choice of words, 'your Alchemist'. "Nonsense."

After a while they left so I could rest. I took a last glance at my left, where Sage was still peacefully and soundly sleeping.

I closed my eyes and smirked at Christian's words; I really did play the role of a knight in shining armor for her—or at least tried to.

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	10. Chapter 9 - Two hands

_9th Chapter is up! Woot! I literally couldn't handle this chapter, it made me cry, and not because I wrote it, but because I actually imagined it in my head. *crying*... ENJOY._

_So, on Monday I'm starting college, and I won't be able to update every day like I'm doing (until this Sunday, I'm afraid), so most likely I'll upload a weekly chapter, and hopefully I can make them longer, as I'll have more time to write. :)_

_I really like writing, even if it's not that good, I have fun. I'll be so sad to have to leave it to weekly times only. but yeah..._

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD OWNS VA AND BL. **

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**SYDNEY'S POV**

Adrian was holding my hand, guiding me through the alleys whilst Rose checked ahead and around the corners for any Strigoi. We went like this for a few blocks, when two Strigoi suddenly pounced on us from the roof of one of the narrowest alleys. I lost my grip on Adrian's hand, but he was soon jumping in front of me, protecting me from the Strigoi. I saw fear in his eyes before he decided to jump in front of me- not fearful for him, but for me.

He kicked one of the Strigoi, but the Strigoi grabbed Adrian's foot, and tossed him away as if he was weightless. Then the other Strigoi rushed to where I was, but Rose was too far away to save me.

'This is it,' I thought as the Strigoi ran to me. It was too fast for me to try to defend myself. And then it happened. The sharp cut of his fangs piercing through the thin skin of my neck. I wanted to scream, to yell, to get out of here, but then a cloud of numbness fell over me and I thought it was the most brilliant sensation, the best imaginable feeling that must have existed. It felt wonderful. But it ended too quickly.

The bite on my neck was oozing with blood, but I was not dead. The Strigoi must have carried me somewhere while in that haze, because I couldn't find Adrian or Rose anywhere. I was dizzy, and my vision was slightly blurred, but I could see the Strigoi a few meters away from me, on his knees spitting blood. He was spitting out my blood.

"Disgusting!" shrieked the male Strigoi in front of me. He stared at me with his red-ringed eyes, bright with red rage. Surrounded by darkness and full of fury and anger, he hissed, "I'm going to kill you! This blood... it's fucking burning my throat!"

There's nothing wrong with my blood, I thought, though I took it as a good sign, because I would be dead if he liked it.

Before he could stand up and move towards me however, I saw three black figures in the distance running to where I was. One of them was Dimitri, and two other guardians I didn't know. Dimitri moved almost at the same speed as the Strigoi, engaging into a fight that quickly concluded as he staked the Strigoi in the back. The other two guardians were by my side, aiding me to stand and walk. They helped me walk around the corner, when I saw Rose running to me.

"Sydney!" She rushed to me, the guardians releasing me as Rose placed my arm on top of her shoulders for me to lean on her. She gave a look to Dimitri and said," Adrian was left behind on the next alley turning the corner." He nodded.

Dimitri and one of the guardians rushed back to where Rose came from. Rose helped me walk with one of the guardians protecting us. We made it to the corner, when we found Dimitri halfway to where Adrian was. A Strigoi was drinking from Adrian, who had a dazed look on his face, and I felt horror watching him there, defenceless and dying.

I wanted to do something for him, to protect him, as he did when he threw himself in front of me. I wanted to run and get that Strigoi of him, but it would be useless.

Dimitri was already on top of the Strigoi, leaving Adrian lying on the floor. The fight lasted no more than 2 minutes, with Dimitri staking the Strigoi. She fell limp on the floor, as we all ran to where Adrian was. A couple of guardians surrounded him and shook him awake; he had his eyes open when I approached him, and he slowly fell unconscious once I got to his side.

"Adrian!?" I said kneeling next to him and shaking him awake, the first thing I've said since the explosion. It seemed ages ago, but it was barely half an hour that passed since then. "Is he alive?" I asked Rose, who knelt beside me too.

"He is," she said, placing two fingers on his bloody neck where the pulse is, "But his heartbeat is really low. We need to take him to the hospital right away. I can't sense Strigoi anymore, but we'll have to be extremely cautious taking him to the hospital."

"I'll go ahead and secure the perimeter," said Dimitri, "Rose you stay with Sydney and Francis whom will carry Adrian. John, you'll be behind with them."

"Comrade..." whispered Rose as she got closer to Dimitri, "Be careful."

"Same with you, Roza. You're still not completely fit to guard." Dimitri whispered back as he embraced her and gave her light kiss.

They pulled back as they realized they still had company. Both blushing, they each settled to follow their part of the plan.

The way back to the hospital was Strigoi-less, and I was getting dizzier with each step I took. I couldn't concentrate anymore on anything, because of the amount of blood I kept on losing from the bite. I fainted at the entrance of the hospital. Darkness surrounded my sight, from the outside to the inside.

I woke up in a white room, and I was lying on a bed. A hospital machine was connected to my arm through tubes. A hospital, I thought, I remember fainting at the entrance of the hospital. I wonder how much time has passed since then. I tilted my head to the right to see if my things were on the table beside me; instead, I found a more pleasurable—yet horrifying—sight staring back at me. I widened my eyes. What was I doing in a room with him? I know he wouldn't attempt drinking blood from me; he had had several opportunities already, but still. I sat up on the bed quickly.

"What... You've never shared a room with a guy before?" a smirking Adrian asked, as he scooped a spoonful of ice-cream to his mouth. He was lying on a bed too, connected to the same machines I had, too. Staring at me intensely, "I honestly expected you to wake up before me, and perhaps you'd give me a 'Thank-you-so-much-for-saving-me-Adrian' kiss- that would be a great way to wake me up."

I stared at him silently and narrowed my eyes. If stares could kill, this one would do the trick. I was going to say something, when he spoke again.

"Sage, it was a joke. I know you would prefer kissing frogs a million times more than kissing a Moroi," said Adrian, "Besides, you're not my type. Just saying Sage, sorry." He went back to eating his ice-cream and watching TV with a goofy smile plastered all over his face.

I raised my eyebrow at him and after a while added, "Well, you're not my type either." This time he stared at me with a comical look on his face.

"Sage, do you even have a type?" asked Adrian, with a devilish grin on his face, "Maybe that Brian dude that came with you to Court?" His grin became smaller at those words.

"It's Ian, and no. I don't... I don't know." I paused and blurted out, offended by the question he used, "I sure have a type and... why am I even talking about this with you?"

"Well Sage, I don't know, you started it." His grin re-appeared on his face. He laughed at something on the TV, and then turned to me again. "Do you want some ice-cream, Sage?"

"No way, ice-cream has too much sugar." I told him as I shook my head. "No, thank you."

"Your loss. It's low-fat... chocolate... yum. Mmm." Adrian said, trying to look like the people from ice-cream advertisements on TV. I laughed at his attempt to sell me ice-cream and shook my head at him whilst smiling.

I was doing a lot of smiling around him lately, it was weird. But I couldn't really believe the fact that he was a Moroi, an unnatural and evil being. Instead, he was easy-going, and I could easily forget the fact that I wasn't even supposed to hang out with Moroi willingly, but I did enjoy hanging out with him. Plus, he was very easy on the eyes, really cute. Also, let's not forget that he threw himself in front of me to protect _me_, even though he barely knew me. And seeing his broken side gave me a whole new perspective towards him—and Moroi.

"Sage? Are you thinking about how awesome I am?" Adrian asked while staring at me, "You seem lost in thought."

"Actually Adrian, I am," I answered back with a hidden mocking tone, not sure of what I was really doing.

"Really?" he asked surprised, straightening up on his bed.

"No," I stared at him as a laugh escaped me.

"Did you... did you just flirt with me, Sage?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side.

"Why would I flirt with you, I'm not your type, remember?" It was so easy joking with him. I always held this strict demeanour, and I felt free from it with him. "Don't assume everyone has to flirt with you when you meet them. And why do you call me Sage instead of Sydney? It's something that has been nagging me for days; you have done that since you met me."

"Huh, so you _have_ been thinking of me these days. I see." An amused expression settled on his face as I started to protest, but he cut me off. "I call you Sage, because it sounds smart, like you are. Sydney is a nice name, but everyone calls you that, so I decided I'd have my own, unique way to call you." He said as he shot me crooked grin.

Why did he do that? I felt myself blushing and flustered because of it. It was one of those gorgeous, full-fledged grins from models. He even hid his fangs. I tried to hide my blush the best I could by pretending to remove some stray hair from my face, even if there wasn't any.

He lay down again as he swapped the channels of the TV, a faint smile on his face.

"Thank you," I blurted out with my head down. I couldn't look at him for fear of blushing again. "For protecting me from the Strigoi. It... It was very brave, so thank you."

"Sage, you don't have to thank me, I would have done that even if a Strigoi army went for you, and I was the only one there." he said as he stopped pressing buttons on the controller, and I raised my head. We locked eyes for a couple of seconds and he started blinking and then cleared his throat. "Plus, I'll always be there to protect a damsel in distress." He smirked.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to do it, you barely know me. For all you know, I'm just another Alchemist." I added frowning; suddenly imagining what would have happened if he hadn't stood in front of me. It would have probably had the same outcome, but he still had.

"I can't leave a friend in danger, Sage. And you're not just another Alchemist. You worried about me when I broke down, you stayed when I asked you to, and you made me laugh when no one else could, and you barely knew me. Plus, if you were just another Alchemist, you would have left me there in my own misery, drowning myself in my spirit." He paused and met my gaze.

"You wouldn't have stayed and I most definitely wouldn't have laughed with you. I already consider you a friend. Because all I needed was someone there with me, and you were that person. I could trust you with me- that's how much I trust you, Sydney."

The sudden use of the name Sydney coming out from Adrian was a slap to my face.

The realization of how close we have gotten to each other in this short period of time was a second slap to my face.

And the fact that I actually did consider him a friend was a third slap to my face.

I couldn't have gotten this used to vampires in this time, I'd only been here a week, but he had somehow become my friend.

"I should be the one thanking you instead, Sage, for listening to me," he said, a sad tone taking over, "No one ever did before." He gave me a small, sad smile that broke my heart. "But enough of these sad stories, I don't want to cry." He scoffed. "So tell me about the Alchemists."

I looked up at him, and with a sigh, started telling him the basics about the Alchemists.

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	11. Chapter 10 - A Golden Sprout

_Hey guys! I'm really, sorry for not having updated in about 2 weeks. I'm so sorry, really! I just got into college last week, and it has been chaos getting used to this new schedule and it's horrible. I'm still getting used to it. _

_Here's the new chapter, I think it is interesting, because I have just finished the outline for the end of this fanfic (don't worry, Chapter 10 is barely the beginning of it!) and you guys will probably hate me for what I will do to Adrian and Sydney, or maybe love me, I don't know!_

_Thank you all for your reviews, I read every single one of them, and I'm amazed! Thank you all for taking your time to read this fanfic, and although I know it's not the best, I love seeing your reviews saying that you like it! You're the reason I get on a computer to write. :')_

_Dedicated to all of you who inspire me to keep on writing.. AHH! :D_

_BETA: **CherrySlushLover**_

**DISCLAIMER: VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD!**

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**ADRIAN'S POV**

"So, you're telling me you guys just go all around the place and decompose Strigoi bodies with these chemicals you have to carry around?" I asked Sydney. "Ok, I get that, but is there any other way to decompose it? Name your highest number of decompositions."

"Not really, I mean, if the sun comes out before we arrive the place, the bodies decompose with the sun rays," she paused and looked up to remember something. "And the most I had to decompose was back in Russia before I met Rose." I froze, the mention of her name was still too painful to bear, but Sage didn't see my reaction, so she continued.

"So yeah, that's pretty much our jobs," she said as she looked back at me. "Decomposing Strigoi, maintaining vampires a secret, dealing with human businesses and all of this whilst acting professional." She said as she shrugged at the last bit. I'd never seen her so relaxed, and I looked at her shocked, since I'm a Moroi, and she dislikes us.

"You really are a 007." I said, as she looked back at me. "Say Sage, when we met on the interrogation room, your superior said something about dealing with you when you got back to them. What exactly does that mean?"

She stiffened, eyes wide, and her aura went a light indigo, meaning fear.

There was silence, and after a while she answered in a low voice, "What Stanton was referring to was that I have to face an inquiry when I get back, once the coronation is over. Alchemists have a strong belief that we shouldn't interact with Moroi more than just professionally and—"

"And you're going to say that that is exactly what you should be doing, instead of befriending one. Am I right?" I said cocking my head to the side, looking at her aura intently.

"No, I mean—what?" she said as she blushed. She tried to hide it by rambling about what they did to Alchemists that didn't follow the rules, without looking at me.

"Alchemists get send to re-education, which is kind of a place where corrupted people are... re-taught what being an Alchemist means." she said, her voice trembling at the mention of it, her aura going a dark indigo now. Whatever it was that made her scared was probably be too much to handle even for someone as strong as Sage.

"And you're scared, Sage. I can tell by your aura, and the way you are hugging your knees and trembling as if you were at the North Pole. Is it really that scary? Because I'm sure you won't have to face it, you haven't done anything wrong. You did your job."

"Well, yeah, I can't really deny it, with all your aura reading and stuff, but yes, it is," she gave me a sad smile and to evade the topic, she asked, "And what's with the aura reading? What does it say of mine?"

"Well, that you're scared to death right now, which is a dark indigo color." I said as I frowned. "But it is usually yellow with sparks of purple all over."

"What does yellow mean? And the purple?" She asked curiously.

"Aha! You've got yourself some homework, Sage!" I said as I winked and smiled at her. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I swear you're infuriating sometimes, Adrian Ivashkov." she said shaking her head.

I was going to say a smart-ass comment when the hospital room opened and the young Moroi nurse entered, followed by Rose, Christian and Dimitri. I frowned at the sight of the two love doves, but quickly changed my expression before anyone saw it.

"How are you guys feeling?" asked Rose with concern written all over her face, staring at me with her arms crossed. Then she quickly started staring at Sage when I stared back at her. I could tell she was uncomfortable, as her aura went a light brown.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get different rooms for you two, but the hospital rooms are all full. The explosion harmed a lot of people, but there weren't any deaths, miraculously." She said that mostly at Sage. I suspected that it was because of her dislike to what I am, a Moroi.

"Little Dhampir, you don't have to worry about it, Sage was actually admiring my awesomeness." I forced those words through a fake smirk and gritted teeth, trying not to give away how uncomfortable I was. "Weren't you, Sage?"

"What? No, you were admiring _my_Alchemist awesomeness," she said, with a straight face staring at me, but I could tell she wanted to laugh by her aura. "Besides, you're not that awesome." She stared back at Rose and Dimitri.

Rose stared at both of us, amused by what Sage said, apparently.

"I thought Alchemists hated us?" Christian said with a confused face from behind Dimitri. "I don't know, that's what I've heard- I've never met an Alchemist before, so yeah."

"They don't hate us, they're just really uncomfortable with us being around them because we're unnatural and drink blood and use magic and all sort of creatures of the night and yeah. Don't you Sage?" I said hastily.

To be honest, I didn't want to say all of it out loud, but I was starting to feel light-headed because of spirit's darkness, making me blurt out the first thing in my mind. All eyes were on me as I said that, and then Sage spoke, turning all the attention to her.

"Um, something like—" I blacked out. The pull of the darkness made me unaware of everything around me. I knew I was awake, sitting at the hospital room while Sage continued her story, but I couldn't focus on anything. None of my senses worked in the hospital room. I was trapped inside of my head; I could hear whispers, see shadows and feel trails of smoke all around me, surrounding me like an invisible veil. Almost as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. "—maintain professional relationships with Moroi and Dhampirs and—"

"When can I leave the hospital?" I asked to the nurse with a noticeable frown in between my eyes.

"Lord Ivashkov, you may be released at evening." The nurse said, "When we are certain that you are at full capacity. Is anything wrong?"

"Can I be released _now_?" I asked irritated, watching the sun; it was still bright outside. I suddenly felt angry at everything and everyone. This must be spirit's darkness dragging me to the depths of insanity and doing its works.

'This is it,' I thought, 'I've finally gone crazy.'

I clenched and unclenched my fists trying to control my trembling.

"Mr. Ivashkov, I can't—"

"Release me, _now_." I didn't know what I was doing; I couldn't control my impulse of sudden fury and rage inside me. I stared straight at the nurse's eyes, working all the compulsion I could so she released me, but I used too much and before I realized it, she fainted from spirit power- my power.

Dimitri's natural reflexes made him react before the nurse fell to the floor and he caught her. I stared at the nurse with my eyes wide-open as he carried her to the green couch at the left of my bed and then stood up and faced me, anger and disappointment written all over his aura.

Rose did the same after checking on the nurse, this time, and her anger was evident not only in aura, but physically. Her frown easily appeared on her face, her fists clenched at her sides and her jaw tensed.

"Adrian, are you crazy? Why did you use compulsion on her?" she asked enraged by what I did, gesturing to the unconscious nurse. "You know spirit compulsion has more effect and you—"

I quickly stood up from the bed and stood next to it to face Rose, who was just a few inches away from me.

"You think I don't know that, Rose? You think I wanted her to faint on purpose? You think I did it because I wanted to see her faint?" I asked almost yelling and taking a step forward with each question as I looked at her intently, narrowing my eyes.

She should've known, better than anyone, that I can't control the effects of darkness and spirit when it took its toll on me. The spirit takes me over, dominates my whole body and twists it under its tentacles.

She finally broke eye contact, looking intimidated and then stared at my left where Sage was. I momentarily forgot that Sage was quietly watching from afar, and I suddenly felt guilty. She hated magic and Moroi more than anything in the world, and she just witnessed one doing magic. She had a sad, terrified look on her face.

"Sage... fuck, Sage. I'm so sorry for this, I—fuck!" I whispered as I grabbed my head in between my hands and stared at her one last time before pacing to the door to leave. I was leaving no matter what Rose or Christian said, and Sage would finally have peace- and a room for her to recover without me being there.

"It's killing you, isn't it, Adrian?" Sage asked in a low voice ignoring everyone else in the room, as I grabbed the doorknob to exit. I knew what she was talking about- the darkness. "You're stronger than it. I know it."

I stood still with my back facing everyone in the room. Her voice was full of concern and hope. She truly believed I could be stronger than the darkness; she genuinely thought I could beat it. I turned around, with my hand still on the doorknob, everyone staring at Sage and back at me and again.

"Sage, you seem to be the only one left in the world who has hopes for me," I smirked and turned around to exit, "Thank you, Sydney."

I ran out from the hospital, not caring if everyone stared at me as if I was crazy, because honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between sanity and insanity anymore. I was caught up in the middle of both of them, and although I wanted to believe Sage's words, I knew I was nowhere near being stronger than the darkness.

I could try to be stronger, but I didn't truly believe that I could win this internal battle with myself, not after what I had just experienced in that short episode at the hospital room. I wasn't exactly sure what all of that was anyway, but I was scared. Yes, _the_ Adrian Ivashkov was scared of something that he wasn't even sure happened.

It did feel real, everything. And I'm sure I even heard someone whispering.

Does this mean I'm already crazy? That I've lost my mind? What does all of this mean? The questions reverberated round my head.

I stopped running after a while, as I was barefoot and tired. I couldn't even look for my shoes back there; I just wanted to get out from everyone's sight no matter what. I ran to the edge of the forest on the east side of court, right where the wards ended, away from the center of action. As I started walking, I saw shards of broken glass, pieces of concrete and ashes all over the floor, scattered everywhere. This must have been the building that went off in the explosion yesterday. I didn't exactly remember what this building was used for, but since it was on the east side, it must have been a minor building.

I was careful to avoid the glass and made it to the forest unseen. The sun was starting to set, and the shade of the trees was covering me completely. I sat down next to one of the thickest trees on the edge of the forest, and lay down to wait for the sun to completely set as I closed my eyes. I had many things to think about before even thinking to head back.

First of all, why is it that I don't feel as terrible as I should with Rose? I mean, I do feel terrible and shattered, but I expected it to be the worst thing ever, the catalyst for me to go crazy with no return. Yet, it wasn't. I wasn't reacting like someone who just got cheated on by the love of his life. I wasn't acting like someone whose heart got broken in a long lapse of time. This just wasn't natural.

Second of all, the explosion. What set it off? I couldn't even ask the love doves what they had found, because I couldn't stand being there. That was something I'd have to find out for myself later on.

The third thing—my darkness. I had never experienced anything like the thing that happened back in the hospital. It was like darkness gripping me everywhere, death all over the corners of my mind. It was too strong for me to try to control it, but Sage firmly believed that I could. I saw her eyes full of conviction, not some eyes that showed that they were sorry; they were full of true conviction and faith- in me.

And fourth, what is it that Sage fears back there in the Alchemists' place?

She said it was literally a re-education, where they imposed their beliefs on her again. it couldn't really be just that if her aura was a flaming indigo color. It must be the worst imaginable thing someone might face, as an Alchemist. In the short time I've known her, she has portrayed herself as a very strong, dedicated and brave girl; I doubted there were many things that scared the crap out of her like re-education or whatever it is called, did.

I can't really place her in the setting I'm imagining. A torture place, somewhere where they are brain-washed or something and they come out as a completely different person. She's too—for the lack of another word—angelic to have to go through that process.

She told me that Alchemists that stray from their beliefs are usually the only ones who have to do that, yet she was almost sure she would be send there.

Honestly, I was afraid for her, even if I didn't really know her. She genuinely believes and cares for me, and I can't see her being dragged to her nightmare. I ought to help her avoid it if I can, even if she hates Moroi. She helped me even if I didn't ask her for help; I owe her that at least.

I opened my eyes to find darkness. The sun had set at least half an hour ago, and here I was, thrown in the forest, drowning in my own thoughts.

Lately, I find myself wanting to paint whenever I have my episodes, and I want to paint with every shade of gold I can make.

When I blink, I see a golden lily.

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_Please review and tell me what you think of my fanfic. All kinds of criticism are accepted (except hate!), so I can fix it and get better on my writing! I love you guys! Really, thank you! :}_


	12. Chapter 11 - Night-time bloom

_Hey! This is my last chapter without a Beta, so yeah.. :)_

_I dedicate this chapter to my 50th reviewer: Goode-Lover! Thank you so much for that review, it made me giggle! :}_

_And to the Guest asking for more Christian: I've got surprises for you ahead in the story.. don't worry. :)_

_Thank you all for reviewing and following and favoriting! It's almost at its 4000th visit, and I'm simply in shock since it's my first fanfic._

**DISCLAIMER: I ONLY OWN THE PLOT. VA AND BL BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD.**

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_**SYDNEY'S POV**_

I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't care even a bit for Adrian right now. This week I'd gotten to know him, and he hadn't been half as bad as I thought a Moroi could be. I've learned why he is the way he is (sad and tormented) in just 6 days. I've learned that his element—spirit—can drive him to his limits, leaving him vulnerable and unprotected. I've learned that he numbs down spirit when he drowns himself in alcohol and cigarettes. And I've learned that he is not that different from humans, to the exception of blood as food.

I've been taught for my whole life that Moroi and Dhampirs were completely different from us, but I, Sydney Katherine Sage, deny that fact. I've seen them and been with them for several days in a row. I think I can judge for my own what's good or bad.

These people have feelings too, and they're not evil. Unnatural, maybe for us humans, but that's their nature. A nature different to ours, and that fact itself makes us unnatural to them. If they were evil, why exactly would one try to save me from death?

I was alone in the hospital room; it was eerily silent. Rose, Dimitri and Christian left a few minutes after Adrian did, so they could search for him. They told the staff that there was a fainted nurse in my room and needed to be aided because Adrian ran from the hospital to get some alone time and used a little too much of spirit on her. Something told us that he would want to be alone, and we all knew craziness was attacking him. He shouldn't be left alone, especially if he endangered people, or worse, endangered himself.

It had been roughly minutes since then, I believe, but I felt like it had been much longer. He probably thought he would be doing me a favor by leaving this room, but honestly, I was getting bored and it seemed like this would be a long evening ahead for me. He could always lighten the mood wherever he was, no matter how drunk he was. I was always smiling around him.

Although my beliefs are still strong, there's no denying that I have grown attached to Adrian; he is very likeable, and well, easy on the eyes. After all, he saved me from death, and he cried in front of me. I've never met someone so complicated and difficult in my entire life.

I made a mental note to never tell anyone about what I was just thinking. I was running a risk just by thinking about it. I should have never gotten this close to him, but I didn't quite regret it.

My train of thought got interrupted as one of the doctors came in and told me I could leave, that I was fully recovered. I grabbed my things and exited the hospital. The sun was already gone by now, and it was night-time for humans, morning for vampires.

I increased my pace to get to my hotel room as quickly as I could, I didn't want a repetition of last night happening—in case it happened, especially when I had no Rose or Adrian with me.

I was not surprised when I bumped into someone turning a corner nearby the entrance of the hotel, as I was practically running by now. I fell flat on my behind after colliding, while the other person—which was a tall, young Moroi man—barely budged.

"Ow!" I whined as I looked at the Moroi's feet and then up. The chestnut hair and the royal blue eyes staring down at me were excruciatingly familiar.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed as he kneeled beside me and stared at me with real concern on his face. "I was distracted reading this book." He signaled at the book titled The Great Gatsby thrown on the floor. "I shouldn't walk and read at the same time. Let me help you get up." He offered his hand to me and helped me stand.

"I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't be running around corners." I said embarrassed as I stood up and brushed the dirt off my skirt.

"Miss Sage?" he asked cocking his head to the side. I looked up at him, his soft blue eyes on me, recognition settling on his face. "It's me, Skylar... or Sky. I took your salad to your room a few nights ago?"

"No wonder you were so familiar." I whispered, eyes going wide, as I shrugged off the fact that I did not intend to say that out loud. Stupid thoughts that can't stay in my head. I lowered my head as I said, "I'm so sorry for bumping into you, really. I don't know why I was running. Perhaps it was the paranoia from yesterday's Strigoi attack."

I raised my head to look at him, a shy smile settled on his face. God, he was so painfully cute. Why are Moroi men so stupidly attractive, and Moroi women so skinny and gorgeously perfect? Stop, Sydney, just stop thinking about it. Act professional.

"Let me invite you to a coffee, please, as a way to apologize," he said, almost too shy. I swear he was blushing or something, there's no way someone can get this red in a few seconds. "It's on me. Will you accept the deal? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want. I know how you feel toward us and I—"

"I would love a coffee." I said as I gave him a faint smile. I had no idea why I was accepting a cup of coffee with him, but I was going to reprimand myself for this. I shouldn't be socializing with them, but I hadn't had coffee in 3 days. "I would like to get a shower and change out of these clothes though, I was at the hospital overnight and I haven't got a chance to change."

"Of course, I'll... I'll come back at 9:00. Is it ok?" he asked surprised as he stared at his silver Rolex on the right hand. He probably didn't expect me to accept given the fact that he was a Moroi and I was an Alchemist, but he just kept challenging me, and I wanted to prove that I could be professional enough to push aside my discomforts and enjoy what I liked without appearing terrified enough not to do it.

"Yes. Thanks." I said. He bent and picked up some glasses I didn't see before and put them on.

"It's settled then, see you later, Sydney." He smiled a wide smile and started turning the corner, out of my sight.

What was I getting myself into? I walked into the hotel and took the elevator to my room, which was on the seventh floor. I noticed dirt and footsteps on the red carpeted floor exiting the elevator. It went on and on, and went to the same corridor my room was in.

I turned the corner to my corridor cautiously, and found Adrian sitting by my door, he was the reason there was dust all over the carpet. His knees were pressed to his chest, arms surrounding them and his chin supported on his knees, as he emptily stared at the wall across him. He raised his head as he heard me approaching and quickly stood up.

"Sage," he said with a sad smile, "I thought you got kidnapped or something. Took you ages to get back."

"I had a little accident coming ba—wait, what are you doing here?" I asked irritated. "And how do you know my hotel room?"

"I can't reveal all of my magic tricks to you, can't I?" He said as he grinned, but quickly got serious again. "I've been thinking, Sage. I really want you to study Spirit, and I'm willing to help you with whatever I can to be useful. It's a win-win situation. Think about it, your Alchemists learn about it, and then you can get the credit for being the lead investigator or whatever, and I can learn how to control it and the perks it has. I can even get Lissa or Sonya to help out! What do you think, Sage?"

"But Adrian, you told me that the more you used spirit, the more you got these episodes of darkness. Shouldn't you just stop using it for a while at least?" I asked. I then noticed he was barefoot and had cuts on them. "Your feet. You're bleeding."

He looked at his feet and wiggled his toes. "So it seems."

"You have to get that cleaned," I looked for the hotel room's key card in my purse and opened the room to let Adrian in. "Go in, it's going to get infected if you don't take care of it."

He hesitated and looked at me; he grinned at me and then walked in.

"Sage, as much as I'm flattered that you're concerned about my well-being, it never crossed my mind that you'd be the one inviting me over to your room." He said, as a devilish smile spread on his face. "I'm amazed."

I narrowed my eyes at him and showed him to one of the chairs next to the window.

"Sit. Adrian, only you can think of running off from the hospital completely barefoot." I said as I gave him the First-aid kit I carried with me everywhere. "What was that for anyway?" I sat down on the chair opposite to him.

He took the box and sat down on the chair. He raised his left foot and crossed it on top of his right knee.

"Wow, this looks terrible," he said as he chuckled and stared at me with both his eyebrows raised.

"It's not funny! It can get infected!" I was irritated at how lightly he was taking this. This was delicate!

I stood up from the chair and moved it right in front of him, taking the box from his hands. My instinct to clean took over me. I took one of the wipes with alcohol from the inside of the kit and then carefully cleaned the blood on his foot, focusing to try not to make him scream or yell—which he didn't. He was strangely quiet actually, but I didn't look up at him. After I cleaned the wounds, I took cotton with ointment and rubbed it in each of the cuts. Finally, I placed a band-aid on the cuts on both of his feet.

"There, it shouldn't get infected now," I said as I put the last of the band-aids on his right foot. "You need to get shoes, Adrian. I'm serious, you can't just go over the place like that, and you can get sick."

I looked up at him after I was done; his face was just heartbeats away from mine. He was staring at me in a way he has never done in these 6 days, I felt how my blood boiled under his gaze. I caught my breath at the sight of those gorgeous emerald eyes and the way his hair hung wildly. He really was ridiculously attractive.

"I—um, you should get going, I have... a meeting soon. And I need to get ready." I said as I blinked and stood up to place the chair in its original place. I wasn't actually lying to him, I had a meeting with Skylar soon and I was sure I wouldn't make it in time if I didn't start preparing.

He just continued staring at me as he stood up and walked to where I was, stopping just a few feet away from me. I had the urge to back off, but I stayed where I was, staring at him back. He stretched his right arm to where my right arm was, next to my lap, and grabbed it. I froze as soon as he grabbed it.

"Don't worry, Sage. I won't hurt you. Just a gesture of my appreciation for what you have done for me tonight." He kissed the back of my hand softly, the warmth from his lips quickly spreading all over my body, going several miles per second. "Thank you." He whispered.

I stared at him, eyes wide-open as he straightened up and released my hand. I was rendered speechless. He didn't throw in any smart retort or any comment after I cleaned his cuts as I expected. It was strange of him. He always had a snappy retort for everything. It's like he was out of snarky comments right now. He smiled at me without any other word and then walked to the door and opened it, disappearing through it. The door closed after him softly.

I was left frozen in the middle of the room, with my hand blazing hot from that small gesture from him. I couldn't be that affected by him. I mean, he's a really cute and hot guy, but still a Moroi. I... I just couldn't.

Every time I blink, I see emerald spots obscuring my vision.

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_Please review and tell me what you think of it! :)_

_Thank you to everyone! :D_


	13. Chapter 12 - Golden Breeze

_So, here it is, my first update after such a long time. I am terribly sorry it took so long to update, and I apologize to everyone who has been waiting so long for it. I might be sightly worried that my Adrian is too OOC, and so, I might have had to re-do this chapter a couple of times._

_Anyway, here's this lovely chapter with Sydrian moments in it. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed swooning, crying and fangirling with it. _

**_Chapter dedicated to my lovely BETA who is very patient and so sweet: CherrySlushLover. _**_Check out her story: Embracing the Truth._

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VA, BL OR THE CHARACTER. THEY ALL BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD.**

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_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

I stood up from the grass in the middle of the forest, with no idea whatsoever of what to do or where to go. I didn't want to go to the Royal Palace in the state I am, just to be interrogated by Rose and Co. I certainly didn't want to go back 'home' either, where that person who called himself 'my father' was. Besides, they might be looking out for me for what I did to the poor nurse, and I was not in the mood to put up with any interrogation.

It was too dark for me to remotely see anything, and there weren't any light posts nearby that could light the way. As this was the East part of Court, it wasn't widely used or frequented; therefore, it had no need for light posts. So, even with my enhanced Moroi vision, I didn't see the glass shards on the floor as I started walking back to the centre. I stepped on some of them, earning myself some deep cuts on them. It really was idiotic for me not to bring some shoes—seriously, what was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I wasn't.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I felt one of the shards piercing and cutting the middle of my foot, and then another on my other foot, and so it went until I got out of the glass-mined field a couple of meters ahead.

'I can't even heal myself, and I certainly can't go back to the hospital. This is Adrian luck.' I thought as I clenched and unclenched my fists.

I walked a few meters, my feet already numb with the sharp pain as I cursed and took deep breaths to manage the pain. I hope at least no shards got stuck in there which would be ugly. But who could possibly own a first-aid kit that they took wherever they went—well, of course, why didn't I think of her before!

Sage.

I was sure that she had one, though I'm not sure why she would help me even if she did. But I could always try.

I wasn't wearing shoes, but I, however, did have my cell phone with me. I decided to call a friend of mine that owed me a favor, he was a man of resources and could quickly find out information about anyone, including where Sage might be staying. He got the answer rather quickly, and additionally, her room number. I decided to go there as fast as I could manage. I used the Sage logic, which is 'the sooner I am there, the sooner she can finish the job,' and she wouldn't have to spend too much time with me—which she wouldn't want to, even though I did want her to.

My clothes were covered in dirt and dust that I didn't bother to clean at all. It seemed as if I had gotten myself into a bar brawl or something along those lines. I walked past people staring at me with a questioning look on their faces. From what I could hear, word had gone around rather quickly; the news of my unintended attack to the nurse was all around Court now. I ignored them all. The whispering, the stares, the running, I just kept on walking.

If it wasn't for my darkness attack earlier, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have scared Sage, I wouldn't have attacked the nurse. I wouldn't have run away barefoot and got these cuts on my feet. Spirit was getting out of hand. Most of the time it wasn't so unbearable—now I couldn't even seem to grasp control over myself. Everything seemed like a haze, and I didn't want to miss whatever might be going on around me.

I needed to find a solution to spirit, some way to find out everything about it and learn how to control it without harming anyone else.

I didn't realize I was already almost in front of the hotel where Sage was staying in; I was too immersed in my thoughts to notice I walked over a Km in a short time. However, I did notice some Royal Moroi waiting for the valet to pull-up at the fountain turn, with some condescension in the way they carried themselves as they looked down at me. If they knew who I was, they wouldn't be acting this way, but my clothes really didn't inspire any respect, not even from myself.

I entered the hotel's lobby, everyone staring at me as I got ready to hop in the elevator. A cute, tiny, with chestnut colored hair Moroi girl, with huge, blue eyes looked up at me from the inside of the elevator when the door opened. She was biting on the ear of her bunny plush; she couldn't have been more than 4. I smiled at the sight of the girl, it was a silly scene. I expected her to exit the elevator, though she didn't, so I just got in beside her. She watched me as I walked in and pressed the 7 button on the panel, and as soon as the door closed, she tugged on my pants, looking up at me with pleading eyes.

"Hey there, what's your name? Why are you alone?" I asked as I kneeled down to be at eye-level with her. She just kept on staring back at me. "Who are your parents?"

Still no answer, I ran my hands through my hair, I suddenly felt distressed. Who the hell leaves a child alone in such a huge hotel? "Er, I'll help you find your parents." As soon as I said that, the doors opened at the 4th floor, and the girl walked out of the elevator and smiled at me, then went running away to the right hall. I stepped outside to watch her leave, but she vanished.

"Surely she must have run really fast, I _didn't_just imagine that." I told myself as I pressed the button to close the doors over and over again. "I didn't... I didn't... I'm... I'm going mad... I—" The doors closed, and I stood there speech-less, waiting for them to re-open on the 7th floor. I walked to Sage's room, almost on auto mode. I turned a few times to get to the room, unaware of the trail of dust I was leaving behind until I looked back at the sound of steps behind me, but there was no one.

When I got to her room, I wanted her to be there, but at the same time, I didn't. I didn't want her to see me like this, all dishevelled and messed up, yet she always seems to find me in my lowest. She didn't make up conclusions on her own or judge me or pity me.

I gathered the strength to knock on her door and expected to hear rustling of movement behind it. I knocked once, twice, three times, but there was no answer. 'No one's inside', I thought. I decided to wait for her to get back; maybe she was still at the hospital.

I sat down next to the door, knees pressed to my chest. I started looking around me, taking every detail in. The hall was dimly lighted with a peach light that was soft to the eyes all the way to the other end of the hall. A deep, red carpet covered the entire floor, which gave the halls a royal air to them. I started dozing off to sleep, yet I couldn't keep myself from noticing how the temperature seemed to drop a bit more and more. I hugged my knees closer and supported my chin on my arms.

This deal with the darkness was getting out of hand, and I needed a solution to it. Sage said the alchemists barely knew about Spirit. And even though Sonya, Lissa and I kept on studying it, we showed no significant improvement- they both had duties to do and I was apparently the only one with free time. I needed consistent results, and I needed them as soon as possible. The Alchemists may have shown an interest in spirit for the mere purpose of understanding it to keep _themselves _safe, but it could still help if it was studied, no matter who studied it.

The hall was still empty; thankfully no one came to this hall, though I felt someone should have. It has been a time since I'd started waiting, and evening had long gone. The nurse said 'we', were to be released at evening, but Sage still hadn't come back. She would like to change after everything that had happened. And surely, she wouldn't wander around Court all alone without Rose after what had happened last night, and Rose had reports to do.

Maybe she wasn't back from the hospital yet, or she was just a slow walker.

I was staring straight at the wall in front of me, about to give up waiting for Sage, just as I heard steps and saw a flicker of blonde hair to my left. I stood up quickly and breathed out, relief washing over me. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until now.

"Sage, I thought you got kidnapped or something. Took you ages to get back." I said, startling myself with the tone of concern in my voice.

"I had a little accident coming ba—" Sage started saying, then her expression switched to confusion and maybe irritation. "Wait, what are you doing here?" She slightly frowned—yes it was irritation. "And how do you know my hotel room?" she asked.

I chuckled, "I can't reveal all of my magic tricks to you, can I?" I found myself grinning at the irritation on Sage's face, it amused me. I quickly changed my expression; all mocking aside, this was business now. "I've been thinking, Sage. I really want you to study Spirit, and I'm willing to help you with whatever I can to be useful. It's a win-win situation. Think about it, your Alchemists learn about it, and then you can get the credit for being the lead investigator or whatever, and I can learn how to control it and the perks it has. I can even get Lissa or Sonya to help out! What do you think, Sage?"

She seemed pensive for a moment, and then she said, "But Adrian, you told me that the more you used spirit, the more you got these episodes of darkness. Shouldn't you just stop using it for a while at least?"

I just stared at her, shocked to formulate any word. This was so unAdrian-like. Was she more bothered about me, a Moroi, over the chance of being able to get credit for her work? I was about to answer, when she gasped, "Your feet. You're bleeding."

I had forgotten about it, I didn't even feel pain anymore. I just looked down at them and wiggled my toes; they were even more bloodied than I remembered. "So it seems."

Sage opened her purse and whispered a barely audible phrase. "You need to get that cleaned." She fished the key card from her purse and quickly opened the door to her room. "Go in, it's going to get infected if you don't take care of it." she said, obvious distress written on her face.

I raised my eyebrows and stared at her, and slowly walked in as I grinned. Not in a million years would I have imagined this happening!

"Sage, as much as I'm flattered that you're concerned about my well-being, it never crossed my mind that you'd be the one inviting me over to your room." I laughed on the inside as I stared at her whilst she closed the door. "I'm amazed." I could feel a smile creeping over my face. Lately I was doing a whole bunch of smiling around her.

She gave me one of her assassin looks and showed me to one of the chairs beside the window.

"Sit. Adrian, only you can think of running off from the hospital completely barefoot." she said as she gave me a little white box with a red cross on top- a first-aid kit. "What was that for anyway?" She asked as she sat on the chair opposite to mine.

I sat on the chair, and lifted my left foot, placing it on top of my right knee.

Would she understand if I told her? Or would she think I have gone crazy? I decided to ignore her question, as much as it pained me that she may be at least a bit concerned for me, I wasn't thankful enough to answer a simple question—but I didn't need pity right now.

"Wow, this looks terrible!" I said as I faked a chuckle and stared at her, raising my eyebrows in faked surprise too.

"It's not funny! It can get infected!" She was almost hysterical by now. It was adorable how she could get this worked up by a few cuts. Did I just think she was adorable? Yes, I did.

To my surprise, she got to her feet and dragged her chair right in front of mine, taking the white box from my hands. She dabbed a few cloths with alcohol, and cleansed the blood on my feet. It should have hurt at least a bit, but it didn't. Maybe it was the way she was tending them with such tenderness and softness. I didn't feel any pain at all. She was completely immersed and concentrated in it. I couldn't quite see the expression on her face as she tended my wounds, but I could read her aura. She was indeed concerned, and it touched my heart that someone who barely knew me could show such concern for me.

I kept on staring at her blonde, sandy hair in the place where her eyes would be if she was staring at me. She was finishing with the cuts and wounds, and her head was still bent down. I wonder if she could feel me staring at her. And it was difficult not to. She emanated such passion to everything she did, even playing nurse, or actually being a nurse. She showed complete dedication and a fire blazed every time she was doing something.

"There, it shouldn't get infected now," she said, placing the last Band-Aid on my right foot, still not looking at me. "You need to get shoes, Adrian. I'm serious, you can't just go over the place like that, and you can get sick."

She finally looked up at me, and our gazes locked. I don't know how long it was, I just knew that I saw so many shades of gold in those two eyes. It was laid like an open book. I could see how entire words and sentences could be told to me with just a stare. I held my breath as I took her in, her face close to mine. She really was something else. Rose was exotic and hot and extremely gorgeous and she was like fire, dangerous to be around, but Sage... Sage was beautiful, and as delicate as a lily's petals and strong and determined as lilies were when they grew. She was like a breeze, soothing and soft and with her own rhythm.

"I—um, you should get going, I have... a meeting soon. And I need to get ready." she said as she blinked and quickly stood up and placed the chair where it was, my eyes following her. She stood looking flustered and nervous. I stood up and walked right in front of her, and to my surprise, she didn't back away. I could feel tingles in my feet and it was ticklish, but there was no pain. Sage had done an amazing job with it.

I always felt like she was my heroine without disguise. She has helped me regardless that I was a Moroi and she was an Alchemist, and she had listened to me when no one else had. She was my saving grace. I wanted to hug her, and I wanted to close the space between us, and run my fingers over her face, but even that was too much in my head. She would push me away, and think of me as the lowest of the low, because she woudn't ever think of me as highly as I thought of her, and I don't know why, but I couldn't bear with the thought of her despising me.

With a step forward, I grabbed her right hand, I could feel how she stiffened. I was a little hurt, but then I remembered how 6 days ago, she wouldn't have even been concerned for me and would have regarded me with disgust and fear, and so, I appreciated at least the little improvement she made with us.

"Don't worry, Sage. I won't hurt you. Just a gesture of my appreciation for what you have done for me tonight." I kissed the back of her hand, just as a gentleman would when he was courting a lady back in the Victorian times. The warmth of her hand against mine was addictive and I just couldn't get enough of it. "Thank you." I murmured.

I released her hand as I straightened up and then looked at her; I thought she looked a little flushed. It was awfully cute. I couldn't help but smile at her. However, I felt I was flushing myself, so I turned on my heels without another word and walked to the door and opened it before she could see me. Without looking back, I closed it and sped to the elevator. I entered and pressed the lobby floor, and just as the doors where closing, I felt a soft, cool breeze entering.

She was the cool breeze I needed after burning myself as I played with fire.

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_So, tell me what you think and leave a lovely review. I will really try to update with at least one chapter every two weeks and will try to make them a bit longer to compensate for the lack of updates._

_Thank you so much for reading this fanfic. :3_


	14. Chapter 13 - The Masked Lily

_Hello guys! It's been quite a while since I updated, but I promise I had a valid excuse. I was extremely busy with college, and well, engineering is not easy at all. I find myself struggling with it, so that is why I decided to invest more time in my studies, and I just found time to continue with the story._

_I did a couple of paragraphs each week, and I liked how this chapter turned out. I really hope you all enjoy it. SYDRIAN. ok._

_I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE TFH CHAPTER 2 COMING OUT SOON. AND I ALSO READ DIMITRI'S POV CHAPTER. IT WAS SO GOOD, I NEED MORE OF THEM. AND ALSO THE TEASER TRAILER OF VA:BS COMING OUT NEXT WEEK AND POSSIBLY SCREENING IN THE TMI:COB PREMIERE (THAT'S A RUMOUR BTW, I HOPE IT'S TRUE.)_

**_Cheers to my lovely BETA, for being so patient; CherrySlushLover_**

**DISCLAIMER: VA AND BL BELONG TO THE GODDESS RICHELLE MEAD.**

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_**SYDNEY'S POV**_

What was that? That phrase was the only thing left racing though my mind ever since the moment he had stood up and left.

What was that? I kept on asking myself the same question over and over as I stood frozen in the middle of the room.

What was that? I had no idea what just happened, and I had no clue as to which sub-category this would be catalogued into in 'the bizarre events in the life of Sydney Sage'.

And I promise, my life is pretty bizarre.

I was sure, however, that I was possibly over-thinking this. I was just cleaning his wounds, but it was out of place for him to kiss the back of my hand and then stare at me like that, wasn't it?

I shook my head in denial and closed my eyes; of course I was over-thinking this.

Sighing, I looked at my wrist watch and gasped. It was only 8:00pm. I had plenty of time to get ready for my coffee with Skylar, yet I had told Adrian that I had a meeting soon. Although, I had lost all interest of going out, but a meeting is still a meeting so I had to keep my word.

I got in the shower, and the uncomfortable memory of Adrian's eyes on me reappeared every time I saw the bathroom tiles. They were the same color of his eyes, so green and deep and painfully beautiful.

"Stop, Sydney, stop!" I whispered to myself as the water fell on my skin. I closed my eyes to prevent myself from thinking about _his eyes_.

Sure, they are striking, and green is a pretty color, but they should have no such effect on me. Instead, I should be reprimanding myself for allowing such contact with a Moroi.

Alchemists do not care about them. Alchemists do not socialize with them.

It was 8:22 when I got out of the shower. I still had time before Skylar got here to pick me up for our coffee.

I had just finished getting ready when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at the time on my wrist watch, 8:57. Skylar was awfully punctual, which reminded me of myself.

Instead of finding Skylar at the door—God help me—I found a very formal and attractive Adrian Ivashkov leaning casually on the door frame. His hair was a perfect mess. I wondered how much time he invested on it to make it look like it did. He wore a tuxedo that had clearly been made by a prestigious designer, with a red vest and white collar. I saw no traces of what I had seen earlier in him right now—no fatigue, no sadness, nothing.

I should have expected him to come, but I didn't. I must have had the most mesmerized face on, because he started laughing.

"Sage, I know I'm gorgeous," Adrian said, as he winked at me and then invited himself inside. "But you could use a bit of dissimulation, you know?"

"Adrian, what are you doing?" I said,

trying to keep my voice low, "I've got a—"

"I know, I know. A 007 secret agent meeting, I know, Sage." He said as he turned around and faced me. He scanned me all over, from head to toes. I suddenly felt aware of how he was staring at me, feeling self-aware of the time I invested on actually trying to look good. He then cleared his throat and added, "Lissa asked me to give you this."

He retreated a green and gold card from his tuxedo and handed it to me.

"It's a formal party to celebrate the official coronation, plus, we get to use masks. All royals and officials are invited, and since you're an Alchemist, I take it you're in the Officials' category? It starts at 10 o'clock."

"I... I can't." I murmured as I mentally scanned what I could possibly wear, which was nothing.

As if he knew what I was thinking about, he walked out of my room and turning around, he grinned and said, "I'll fix up everything. You should really go." And I thought I heard him say something more as he turned and walked away, but I couldn't quite decipher what it was.

As Adrian turned the corner of the hall, Skylar was turning too. To my surprise, he was too formal, especially for a cup of coffee. He wore a white tuxedo with a black shirt and a sapphire blue tie, his hands in his pockets. He wore expensive-looking shoes and I thought I saw an earring in his left ear. He wore no glasses, as I have seen him wearing before. His hair was styled very fashionably, instead of the chestnut mess he usually had. Compared to the shy guy I met before, this guy was a supermodel.

I thought I felt the air getting tense as Skylar and Adrian went past each other; Skylar was glaring menacingly at Adrian. I couldn't see Adrian's reaction, but something told me it wasn't nice. Adrian finally turned the corner and Skylar smirked darkly. His smirk faded away as he noticed me standing at the door. I didn't know what was the business with those two was, and I had no intention of asking neither.

We arrived at a little Italian themed café that was a couple of blocks away from my hotel. It looked cozy, but at the same time too fake, as if they spent too much time on trying to fit all italian stereotypes and just placing them here to make it look italian.

A moroi waitress about our age sat us at a table inside the café, right next to the window, and I couldn't but notice how a few Moroi at the café were way too formal to drink or eat something here.

"Skylar?" I asked as he finished ordering his coffee, "Is it me or are people just a bit too formal for coffee, including you?" I said, as I stared around the café.

He chuckled as he stared around the café too and whispered back as he supported his elbows on the table. "I wouldn't be wearing it if I didn't have to—this is too formal even for me to be honest, but there is an official coronation formal party for royals in a while, and it's custom that all royals attend. Not that I'm obedient to all royal customs, but it doesn't hurt to do so once in a while." The waitress quickly brought our coffee and batted her eyelashes at Skylar, which I think he didn't notice.

I knew he wasn't lying about the party, I was invited to it after all, but he was a royal? Out of all moroi at court, I was drinking coffee with a royal one?

"You're royal?" I asked in disbelief. When I met him, he was a waiter at the hotel. Why would a royal moroi be a waiter back at the hotel?

"To my dismay," he added with a sigh as he slouched in the chair and softly ran a hand through his hair, messily styling it.

"I don't think I have introduced myself properly. My name is Skylar Badica, from the Badica clan, and yes, I am royal, but I don't like to use the title. Also, I prefer Sky, just Sky." He gave me a full-fledged smile.

I uncomfortably turned in my seat and commented, "But why were you serving as a waiter back at the hotel?"

"Like I said, I don't like using my last name. I feel like I need to be independent and work for things I want on my own. Of course, being a royal brings benefits, but I don't like that feeling I get after having something given to me when I didn't work for it. It's wrong. Plus, it gets the attention off of me as a Badica."

After a moment of silence, I asked, "I don't mean to sound rude, but aren't the Badica's a dying line?"

He grinned and asked, "Why would that be rude, Sydney?" A shiver ran down my spine as he said my name. He paused and then added, "It is true, there are only 13 Badica family members left as of now."

"That's horrible and sad," I said, genuinely disturbed by that piece of information.

He seemed pensive for a while and then added as he chuckled, "Perhaps not the best topic for a conversation right now, isn't it?"

After an hour of an actual fluid conversation, three cups of coffee and a low-fat chocolate cake, which I don't know how he got me to eat, we stood up from the cozy, italian café store, which is called Luigi's Café, and left. I was aware of how he kept his distance and respected my views on Moroi and Dhampirs, and how we seemed to avoid topics that made me too uncomfortable. It was actually pleasant to spend this time with him.

He accompanied me back to my hotel room. If I didn't know better, this was close to being called a date if only he was human. I would have had celebrated that my awkwardness didn't ruin it, but it wasn't a date. He was really friendly and charismatic, but that's as far as I go to describe a Moroi. I wouldn't have even accepted drinking coffee with one a week ago.

I may not feel safe or totally comfortable around them right now, but one thing I have learned this week is that they have feelings too, unlike strigoi.

We got to my room and I fished out the hotel key card and opened the door.

"We're here," Sky said as he stared at his feet and slowly raised his head to stare at me. This was the shy, blushing Sky I remembered I met. "I had fun, Sydney. Hope you did too. Goodnight."

"Um... goodnight, Sky." I said as he turned around with a cheeky smile on his face and I closed the door behind me.

This can't get any weirder than that, I thought.

I guess I was wrong, wrong in so many ways.

I found a big, rectangular black box on top of my bed. It had three lilies on top and a note.

_**I told you I would fix everything up, Sage. I hope you like them, they were difficult to find at this time, but I did and I genuinely think they are perfect for you.**_

_**I guessed you wouldn't have a formal dress for the mask party, especially at such a short notice and I am positive I got your measurements right. So help me and wear this. Plus, I found a mask that goes with it as well, you'll find it with the accessories and shoes (They're in a bag at the table beside the window).**_

_**-A**_

I sat down next to the box and read the note five times to make sure it was from Adrian. Nobody else called me Sage.

I did not dare look at the dress just yet. Who knew what kind of freak show he would make of me if I wore it?

At last, curiosity got the best out of me, and I decided to peek at the dress, mask and shoes.

Not only did the dress look as expensive as one of his shirts would be, but it was gorgeous and sexy. If only I was skinnier and curvier, I'm sure I could pull it off and look as sexy and elegant as I pictured a model in it. It looked too small for me, I could never fit in there, and I could never wear such a bold color and something that showed this much skin; my left shoulder would be completely bare, and a slit on the left would show a bit of leg too.

It was a bright, scarlet-red colored dress, with glitter all over. It was a simple, yet classy, one-shouldered piece of art. The shoes were at least five inches tall, with gold patterns that enclosed my feet. I don't know how he expected me to wear this, but at least they did fit. I also found a cross necklace that was made of gold, and some earrings. And last, but not least, the mask was a bright red and gold explosion of feathers and glitter that looked very elegant and classy. It fit perfectly and made me look bold and wild.

I made a mental note to tell Adrian that it was nice of him to go out and trouble himself to look for all of this at such time, but I could never wear such garments and accept this out of nowhere.

_9:52pm._

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.

'Okay, Sydney, you go and open that door and give the dress, shoes and mask back to him and thank him,' I thought.

I opened the door to find Rose dressed in a guardian suit and Jill Mastrano-Dragomir dressed in a purple dress instead.

"Rose?" I asked confused as I looked at her, then at Jill, and back to Rose. "What are you doing here?"

"I was checking on you to see if you're okay. I haven't heard from you since the hospital. And also to see if you were going to the party." She stared at me from head to toes and frowned, "And I see that you aren't. Why aren't you dressed?" She asked as she invited herself inside, followed by Jill, who gave me an apologetic look. "The party is starting in a bit."

"I can't go, Rose."

"Sure you can and sure you will. We will help you get ready," said Rose, staring at Jill. "Right?"

"Um... yes. We will." Jill added nervously.

"What do we have here?" Rose asked as she saw the box with the dress and opened it. "This is so beautiful, Sydney. Is this your dress?"

"Yes, I mean, no... I—"

"Just wear it! Come on, put it on!" She started pushing me to the bathroom and gave me the dress through the unclosed gap of the door.

"I doubt it fits me, it's too small." I said through the door.

"Nonsense, it will fit perfectly." She yelled back. "Jill, go get some make-up, we're giving Sydney a makeover."

After a few moments of debating with Rose, and losing, I finally tried it on. Surprisingly, it did fit perfectly, and it showed curves I didn't even know I had. For once, I felt beautiful.

I walked out and immediately Rose and Jill started working. I had no idea what they were doing to my face, since they made my back face the mirror.

I felt powders brushed on my face and cheeks, and suddenly my eyes were being lined, and then I was applied with eyeshadow and mascara and lip-gloss. My hair was being pulled into some hair-do I was still unaware of. It felt weird having my make-up and hair done by them, when I usually do it myself. But then again, I have never done my make-up for a party.

"All done!" Jill exclaimed, "You look beautiful, open your eyes!"

"We should be make-up artists, Jill." Rose said with a proud look on her face, "Look for yourself, Sydney."

The moment of truth, I guess.

I turned around, and what I saw in the mirror was not me. This person was beautiful, golden eyes lined, lips full. And that was not me, but it kind of felt like me. Beautiful.

_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

I was already drinking at the hall when the ceremony master announced the official start of the party. Lissa was at the center of a ring of guardians dressed in black and Christian beside her. Rose was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Rose? Or Jill?" Lissa asked me as she caught sight of me. "I haven't seen Rose in a while, and Jill is supposed to be here too."

"Maybe Jailbait is with her." I said, hoping Lissa got the hint that I still didn't want to go over that scar by mentioning her name so soon.

"I hope they're okay." She sighed. "I need to go socialize. See you in a bit."

Christian stayed by my side as Lissa started a conversation with some royals nearby.

"Well, this is stressing me out," Christian started, "And what about you? You look as if a train ran you over."

"Thanks—" I replied looking at him, but as soon as I was going to reply with a smart retort, I saw a flicker of blonde hair in the distance. And it unmistakably was Sage, after all, she was wearing the scarlet dress I got her. I thought she wouldn't, I was prepared for her not to wear it at all, to be honest, but she did, even the shoes, the necklace and earrings.

I didn't realize I was holding my breath and feeling uneasy until now, but I felt a pressure getting lifted off my shoulders as I saw her. I felt as if a breeze went through me and I could grasp the air and breathe it in.

She was so beautiful, so damn beautiful that it hurt. I couldn't believe it, neither could I stop staring at her.

* * *

_I feel like from now on, you guys will hate me with what I will do in the future. I have a feeling. _

_P.S.: Don't hate me too much. :(_

_Enjoy and please review. :D_


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